Mission: Dead or Alive
by BreakingxxDawnxxx
Summary: Sasuke is dragged back to Konaha and finds some unexpected changes. Mainly in the girl that was once fawning over him. Can he handle her past? SasuxSaku R&R please
1. Mission: Katana Kidnapping

******This is set into the future when everyone is around thier 20's. It's a remake of my other story so if it's familiar, that's why. (:**

******Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the character in it.**

**Enjoy & review pleasee.**

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Mission: Katana Kidnapping

Sweat rolled down Sakura's forehead and onto her brow as she jumped from tree branch to tree branch. Her vision had already become hazy, seeing as she had been going at this rate for over two hours. The cold, misty, forest was quiet except for the sound of her soft footsteps, so she relaxed.

The cool water slipping of green lush leaves made it clear that it had just poured; slippery, wet bark of the trees made it hard to keep her balance. To top it off her speed was not helping.

Her soft gasps for breath increased as she pushed herself at a faster speed. Heavy metal banged on her back constantly, making her wince a couple of times, but she continued onward.

Suddenly, Sakura's senses were alerted. She was not alone.

'_He had to have been masking his footsteps to match perfectly with mine._' She thought, as she scanned her surroundings for a place to make a decent.

She could practically feel her pursuer smirk.

_'Tch, He's the same as he was before he left. Over confident''_ She thought with a scowl. _'That will be his downfall. Tonight he will deem me a more than worthy opponent.__'_

As an opening appeared Sakura slowed to s light jog. Swiftly, she jumped down towards the ground, her assailant following close behind her. Her feet slid in the mud and she used the friction and momentum to turn around, finally facing her opponent.

"Sasuke, my my, have you changed." Sakura stated examining him; And it was true. He had changed in some drastic ways, but others so small that any person who hadn't known him before, couldn't pick them out.

Although a bit longer in length, his raven black hair still stuck out, defying gravity. His piercing, onyx eyes still seemed to bore into her soul as they did before. His shoulders had broadened, and his muscles were well defined. She took in all of his changes, and put on a cocky grin, knowing he was looking her over too; the scar on his neck from his curse mark had grown in size. His eyes became enticing as he smirked.

"I'm not the only one it seems." Sasuke acknowledged.

Sakura had changed drastically since he had last seen her. Her short pink locks were now grown out to the mid-back. Her emerald green eyes, which used to sparkle so marvelously, were now dull and void of any emotion. She had grown in height, and her hour-glass curves showed through her Black Ops Uniform. Sakura was beautiful.

They started to circle each other.

"So what brings me the grat honor of meeting you here tonight, ?" She smirked. She already knew why he was there.

Sasuke's eyes turned cold. His smirk was replaced by a fierce scowl.

"Don't play this crap Sakura. You know exactly why I'm here. Give it back, now." Sasuke growled; There was no trace of the earlier playfulness in his voice.

"Oh… you mean.. this?" Sakura said shifting the weight off her back and tossing the Katana onto the ground next to her.

Sasuke reacted. He transported behind her, but Sakura was ten times faster. She grabbed his arm headed for the Katana and twisted it around his back, drawing her kunai knife at the same time. Pressing the metal into his throat slightly. Suddenly, Sasuke was gone from her grasp, and she was flipped around, where Sasuke kneed her in the stomach.

Sakura retched, but got back up silently.

"I have no time for games Sakura." snarled Sasuke, "Besides you're still that weak little girl I remember."

Sakura laughed quietly to herself. Sasuke approached the katana on the ground. Unaware that Sakura was keeping an eye on his every move.

He grabbed his katana, and then… It wasn't there anymore.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted.

Sakura laughed "Is that all you say? If it is I hope when you get back to Konaha you'll expand your vocabulary."

"I'm not going back." Sasuke hissed "If that's the only reason you stole my Katana I'd like it back now. Not this fake crap. The real one Sakura. Where is it?"

"Oh no no no, I didn't expect you to come back on your own. How stupid do you think the Leaf Village is? They'd only send the best ninja on a mission like this. Do you want to know what this mission is ranked Sasuke?" Sakura smiled eagerly.

Sasuke stared at her expectantly.

"Triple A, and this is my 7th mission of that level. By the way, congratulations; You're the last Uchiha alive to this day." Sakura reached into her pocket, and pulled out Itachi's missing-nin head band. "I really do hope you're more entertaining then you're brother was. I was disappointed at how easily I defeated him."

Sakura stopped examining her fingernails, and looked up to see his eyes becoming red.

'_Good, that means I struck a nerve_.' Sakura reflected

"I don't believe you." Sasuke glared, his eyes cold.

She threw itachi's headband at him, and Sasuke let it slam into his hands with a loud SLAP-ing noise. He examined the head band, and then he charged Sakura.

Sakura reacted the way she was trained too, she waited until the last second, and side stepped his attempt to punch her. She grabbed his arm, and elbowed him into the ribs. Sasuke stammered back slightly, but then was back on his game. Sasuke flew towards Sakura, throwing a couple of ninja stars with explosive tags on them. They exploded leaving her shrouded in a cloud of dust.

Sasuke ran around the circle, occasionally attacking leaving only small, but deep cuts on Sakura's skin. Sakura made some hand symbols and in her head recited the jutsu she had been taught by Tusande.

"Kai" She screamed, and suddenly there was a force field around her, pushing the cloud of smoke, and Sasuke away from her. The impact caught Sasuke off guard and he went tumbling to the ground, just barely flipping over in time to see Sakura fly towards him. She got one clean punch on his face before he was up, and circling her again. He started to make familiar hand signs.

She smirked and spit on the ground.

"So what was that about being a weak, little girl?" She emphasized the last few words, and flung herself backwards, using a tree to push herself forward towards Sasuke, right as Sasuke blew out his signature fire breathing technique.

The tree behind them caught on fire, and Sasuke turned looking around for his assailant. She was hidden in the tree's above him somewhere, he could sense that much. He slid backwards, but decided to go for another tactic.

"I know it's not here Sakura. Where is my real Katana?" He snarled.

Sakura flew from the tree that he wasn't facing, with a light green light flooding from her hands.

"It's back in Konaha already." She smirked as she managed to get behind him"And you're coming back if I have to drag you."

Sakura smacked him the the head with the light source, and for Sasuke everything went black. He woke up a few days later...in Konaha hospital...being treated by none other then the medic-nin that had dragged him home.

**Mission Katana Kidnapping: Accomplished**

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**This is a remake of my other story so if you kind of recognize it, that's why. xD But I like it so I hope you do too. Honestly, I have no idea when I will update, but review and tell me if it was good and give me so ideas for what should happen next.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the character in it.**

**REVIEW PLEASEE.**


	2. Mission: Explaining the Terms

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it.**

**This chapter is sorta short, but it's got some important stuff in it. (:**

**So I know I updated pretty wuick but I'm positive it won't always be this way. **

**So Read and Review and please give me some ideaa! I may use them later in the story.**

**Thanks guys! (:**

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**Mission: Explaining The Terms**

As Sasuke came too he heard the sound of shuffling papers, and low whispers. Groaning, Sasuke sat up in his hospital bed. Sasuke examined the room. There were two Black Op Ninja's in front of the windows, and Sakura and Tsuande sat in front of the door.

Tsunade glanced over at Sasuke for a second and then her eyes flickered back to Sakura's. She whispered something to her, and Sakura nodded. Tsuande left the room, and Sakura sighed quietly.

_If I could just get Sakura to leave the room, I can take these two out easi-'_

"Don't even think about escaping." Sakura interrupted his thoughts. "You only see a small part of the guards around the Hospital, Uchiha. Security has grown tighter since you let, and if possible even tighter when you returned."

"Hn." Sasuke scowled, and sat back in his bed.

"I'm supposed to explain the terms of your punishment to you. Hokage's orders." Sakura frowned. She didn't like the punishment anymore then he was going too.

Sasuke looked at her, signaling to go on.

"As soon as you're out of the hospital, you are to be escorted to your house. No missions until we feel we can trust you, and even then you have to be accompanied by the Black Ops team. You're lucky to still be alive. If you weren't a valuable fighter, you would be dead." Sakura sighed. She hadn't gotten to the worst part yet. "That's not all though. A Black Op must watch over you at all times, and Tsuande said it would be easier to just live with you. So…I'm moving in."

Sasuke smirked.

'_The old Sakura would have been thrilled to move in with me. She really has changed.' _

"Life. Tell me about it." Sasuke said.

"Well If you hadn't left. You wouldn't have to be asking. Would you?" Sakura scowled. She still held icy feelings towards him for leaving. "Naruto is in training to become Hokage. He's dating Hinata. Ino runs the flower shop, and is now engaged to Shikamaru. Tenten and Neji are both Black Ops and my back up. They are "secretly" dating, but they make it pretty obvious." Sakura stopped. "Me? I uh… became leader of the Black Ops, and single handedly killed the Akatsuki. Actually, that was the warm up for the mission I just went on."

"Even though you knew Itachi was supposed to be mine?" Sasuke asked cockily

Sakura frowned, not wanting to think of the reason why he left. "Sorry mission's orders."

"When do I get out?" Sasuke's hoarse voice asked?

"Of the Hospital?" Sakura questioned.

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

Sakura sat down in a chair across the room from Sasuke and replied, "Whenever you want to leave."

In one fluent motion Sasuke sat up from his bed and unhooked his surveillance equipment. Sakura was up and grabbed his arm.

"I could have done that for you…" She said to him.

He scowled at her. She had obviously forgotten he had been an independent man for the last couple of years. Sakura rolled her eyes, and motioned for the Black Ops members behind her to be dismissed.

Roughly, Sakura shoved Sasuke out the door, and she followed closely behind him.

Walking the streets of Konaha for the first time in years was dramatic for Sasuke. Passer byres gave him horrid looks. He expected it though. He had, after all, abandoned Konaha.

"SAKURA! Where is he!" Naruto's bright blonde mess of hair came into view.

Sakura laughed slightly. "He's right here, Naruto."

Sasuke watched Sakura's face light up, and her eyes became full of life. He grew uneasy. What exactly had happened after he left?

Naruto turned his attention towards Sasuke, and he grinned. He put his hand up into a fist, and then it was in Sasuke's hair, messing it up.

"Welcome home, bud. Not like you're here by choice, but it's always great to see an old friend again."

And just like that Sasuke knew Naruto had forgiven him. No bad blood between them at all anymore. Sasuke would be lying if he thought he was greatful.

"Oh you should thank Naruto; He's the one who convinced the Hokage that she needed your assistance."

Sasuke smirked; Naruto trusted him still.

"Thanks, dobe." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto grinned, and turned back towards Sakura. "I'll drop by his manor whenever you need me too. Just give me a ring when it's all clean. His stuff is already up there so all you guys have to do is move it in and clean up."

"Thanks Naruto." And for the first time since Sasuke had seen her again, Sakura smiled. Not the best he had seen from her, but it was still a smile.

"No problem Sakura." He smiled, and then bounced off.

As Sakura turned back towards Sasuke, her eyes became void of any emotion. She continued on, pushing him towards the old Uchiha Manor, where they would spend the rest of the day cleaning, and moving things in.

**Mission Explaining the Terms: Successful**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in this story. **

**It's purely for fun, and as I said before I have no idea when I will be updating and when I won't**

**I want some reviews people! :D and some ideas!**

**Thanks a tonn! -BreakingDawn.**


	3. Mission: Moving In Without Trouble

**Disclaimer: Ahem, I, a sophmore in highschool, could never own a cartoon, write fanfictions, do school work, and have a social life at all times. So I don't own Naruto, but I'm working on owning Sasuke. ;D**

**Okay so for this chapter I want at least 5 reviews before I continue. I think I know what's gonna happen next chapter, but some idea's would be amazing because... well I may have writers block, and I'd love to hear what you have to say**

**So without further a due; Here's Chapter three. **

**It's extremely short. I promise I'll make the next one longer... but only if you review. Not counting the one already left.**

**By the way thanks for the encouragment stranger! ;D **

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**Mission: Moving in without trouble**

Sakura scanned her surroundings once more quickly. Cautiously, she opened the door, making sure to see and avoid any traps that might have been left in the Uchiha Manor, since Sasuke had been gone. She moved stealthily through the dar-

"You know you could just turn the lights on." Sasuke stated awkwardly.

Sakura glared, and stood straight up."Well uh…It's all clear.., So here's the deal. I'll move stuff in and y-"

"No, I'm moving in, you're cleaning." Sasuke interrupted.

"What! No! You're going to clean! What? Little Sasuke Uchiha doesn't know how to clean?" Sakura stated sarcastically.

Sasuke gave her a blank stare.

"…Oh my gosh!" Sakura laughed. "You really DON'T know how to clean! I'm holding this against you forever Sasuke Uchiha!"

Suddenly a hand came over her mouth.

"You will not speak one word of this." Sasuke growled into her ear. "Swear, now."

Sakura gasped for air, not because of Sasuke's hand, but because she was laughing so hard.

"Okay, okay I swear I won't tell anyone."

Sakura flipped on the light switch, and Sasuke let go of her mouth. The dusty old manor came into her view. In the living room there were a couple of boxes, aside from the the furniture was all still there. She sighed and put her hands on her hips. She had a lot of work to do.

So as Sakura occupied herself with dusting, washing, and cleaning the manor Sasuke unpacked the boxes. She worked upstairs while he was downstairs, but he knew that there was no chance of escaping. Everyone would be on the look out for him to be with a member of the Black Ops. He couldn't risk getting caught ..yet.

Out of the slow, drawn out silence a soft voice floated down to his ears. Sakura was humming along to an imaginary song. Sasuke sneaked around to the corner of the corner of the stairs and looked upwards. The manor was so big, that even with his good eyes he could barely see Sakura, in non other then his mother's old room, dancing around.

Sasuke smirked, he shouted up the stairs "You sound like a dying cow!"

Sakura shrieked with rage. She grabbed the duster and chucked it downstairs, smacking Sasuke right in the face. Leaving Sasuke covered with dust.

Bam! Sakura fell to the ground laughing, and Sasuke sat there fuming. He walked up the stairs, grabbed her bucket of dirty water, and poured it all over her. She yelped is disarray, and Sasuke pinned her to the ground.

Sakura groaned, and Sasuke smirked as he sat on top of her, victorious.

"I win."

"Excuse me almighty Sasuke, your fat ass is in my way of getting up and finishing your cleaning." Sakura retorted.

Sasuke smirked, but got up and continued to the boxes on the floor.

"Well, I'm going to take a shower, I'll clean the rest when I'm done…" Sakura glanced at Sasuke her eyes turning cold again, as if she'd remembered something unpleasant. " Don't forget, there are Black Ops all around Konaha. Keeping watch for the rouge ninja Sasuke Uchiha."

She left the room.

'_Talk about mood swings.' _Thought Sasuke, '_She really has changed, she's stronger, more independent. I can hardly call her a weakling now, she kicked my ass, and dragged my back to Konaha. I need to speak to Naruto'_

A couple of hours later:

Everything was cleaned and unpacked. Luckily, Sakura had gotten a couple of things, so she threw together a small dinner for them both making snappy comments at Sasuke. They had both showered off the mess of their last disaster, now all the was left was to decide who sleeps where.

Sakura rolled her eyes, naturally Sasuke wanted the bigger bedroom, and she of course had challenged him for it. He had beaten her at rock paper scissors three times. She groaned in frustration, as she dragged herself upstairs to the second biggest bedroom, which was right across the hallway from the master bedroom. Shutting the door behind her, she tried to determine whose old bedroom this was.

Black sheets covered the bed; the walls were a navy blue with the Uchiha crest caved into them on either side. Nothing stuck out to determine whose bedroom this was. There was a large plasma screen TV, courtesy of Tsuande for Sakura agreeing to this mission. There was a small closet, and a dresser. On top of the dresser were cans of paint, and a note with her name on the front in sloppy script, she immediately recognized as Naruto's.

She unfolded the note and read what he had to say:

_Sakura-chan,_

_I figured the teme would give you the second biggest room considering how selfish he is. So I took that into consideration and I brought you your favorite color paint. There are some curtains to match in the closet, don't worry Hinata picked them to match, not me. So you're all set. I'll drop by for support whenever you need it. I'll always be here for you, and I hope you know that. Give me a ring whenever you can I wanna see the new design of your room. _

_Love,_

_Nartuo Uzamaki._

Sakura sighed, and pushed away an unwanted memory. She pulled the cans of paint up to her and saw that it was her favorite color, purple. Curiosity got the better of her, she chanced a look at her new curtains too, and was surprised when she saw how nicely the cream white would go with the shade of purple it was. The only problem was the Uchiha crest, but Sakura figured with some work she could make it into the Haruno Emblem. Sakura smiled; Naruto had always known how to make her smile no matter what. She pushed the paint and curtains away for another day.

She flopped onto the bed, and cuddled under the sheets. Before she fell into a deep sleep she managed a look at the clock. It was only 9 at night. She was fast asleep. In the next room Sasuke was getting settled into his own room. He thought to himself as he took old pictures down, out of frames, and straightened up his bathroom.

'_Well, what's the point of leaving again? My brother's dead, of course not by my own hands…' _Sasuke's blood boiled, but he continued on. _'but I see no point in leaving the ones that care for me so strongly again Maybe I'll even open up a little….'_

Sasuke grunted. Yeah, right….

And with that lovely thought the house went quiet.

**Mission Moving in Without Trouble: Accomplished… Kinda.**

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**Yeah I'm not feeling the whole disclaimer thing down here, so uh if you want a disclaimer. Scroll back up to the top.**

**Sorry I don't capture Sasuke's stotic personality totally right, but ya know, i wouldn't kill him to actually speak like a human. So that's kinda out of chracter there.**

**Oh and I'm thinking about writting another story soon, it will be totally different from this one in certain ways. Eventually I want to be able to write a story where people actually have to write about certain things. Ya know like voting or something, but that's in the future.**

**Remember REVIEW or you don't get the next chapter. So you better hurry because I'm going to start writting it tonight. :D Please encourage me to finish the story otherwise... I probably won't xD. So GO GO GO GO! Press Reviewwww!**


	4. Mission: Memories Revealed

**Disclaimer: Someone out bidded me for Sasuke, they told me i didn't have enough heart and soul for him ): So I'm working on owning Neji now but uhmm...Not the rest of them ;DDD**

**So uh I got three reviews, and no one has been reviewing so I figured Why the hell not? **

**For all you faithful readers of mine here is the next chapter:**

**Thank you to Danielle Gaynor for helping me out with all the details. & reviwers you will find your thank you at the end. Hopefully this a longer chapter, because I tried.**

**This time I hope to ACTUALLY get 5 reviews before I post Chapter 5 which I will work on now (:**

**HEREWEGO.**

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**Mission: Memories Revealed**

Sasuke woke to the sound of a small moans coming from across the hallway. He grumbled, and covered his ears with his pillow, trying to ignore it. The moans turned into shrieks. Sasuke groaned as he got out of his bed. Looking at the time as he passed by, he mentally sighed. It was 3:30 in the morning. What on earth was going on with that woman?

He pushed open her door slightly, to see her turning in her bed. Her body was covered with a cold sweat and her mouth was set in a tight line. He looked down at her white knuckles, and noticed they were grasping the bed sheets tightly. She opened her mouth, and let out another terrifying shriek.

"MOM! NO! Dad, please…!" Sakura screamed, and from behind her eyes, she started crying.

Sasuke sighed. Running a hand through his hair he walked towards Sakura's bed, and put his other hand on her forehead. Although her mouth was still set in a tight frown, her shrieking stopped.

"Sakura, wake up." Sasuke said quietly.

Her frown turned into a saddened expression. He sighed, and turned around, after all he had tried.

"Sas….uke…-kun" He froze, and turned around to make sure she hadn't woken up, only to see a smile on her face, and her eyes closed.

Sasuke tiptoed out of her room, and back into his own.

That morning Sakura woke up with a huge migraine, something that only happens after a nightmare. Pushing the dream from her thoughts, she sat up in her bed trying to think about what she had to do today. Oh yeah, she groaned; food shopping. Sakura sighed, and looked in the mirror that hung on the back of her door. She forced a brush through her tangled locks, and dressed casually. When she finally deemed herself as presentable she walked downstairs, and grabbed an apple out of the cabinet. Grabbing the phone, she dialed a familiar number.

"Hel…..lo?" His sleepy voice answered on the third ring.

"Naruto," Sakura smiled into the phone.

"Ah Sakura-chan!" His voice instantly became the hyper-active boy she knew. "Did you get my gift?"

Sakura grinned into the phone. "Yeah! Thanks a bunch, but that's not actually why I was calling. Could you come watch Sasuke for a little while I go to the market? If you can't then its fine I-"

"No, no, no Sakura-chan, I was actually going to head over there today. I'll watch over the teme for you. I'll be over in five minutes. Believe it!" He spazzed and hung up the phone before Sakura could even say Thank you.

'_Oh, that boy.' _She chuckled.

The silence that had enveloped since she put the phone down was broken by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Sakura glanced at the Uchiha quickly, and then went back to writing her list of food to eat. Sasuke's onyx black orbs observed Sakura quietly. She seemed normal.

'_I wonder if she has any memory of what happened last night at all.' _Sasuke contemplated.

"Hn. How did you sleep?" he made himself uninterested, as if he was trying to make small talk. He tore his eyes off her, and continued to the fridge looking for anything that looked appetizing. He picked up an apple and cut it into thin slices.

"Fine." She said curtly.

Sasuke picked at his apple thinking her answer over. He concluded that she had no memory of the nightmare she had last night, or she didn't want him to know about it. Sasuke smirked. He had only been living with her for 12 hours and he already knew a couple things about her most people don't.

"Hn." He grabbed the list from Sakura and read it over. Sasuke stuck out his hand indicating for the pen she was using and added something to the bottom of the list. He handed it back to her, and there was a knock at the door. Sasuke answered it, and Sakura took advantage of this to read what he had added.

_Tomatoes. _It read in his fine script. She suppressed the urge to laugh, and got up to greet the blonde at their door.

"Thanks again Naruto-san. I'll be back in about an hour or so." Sakura smiled, and left.

Naruto waved at her, until she disappeared around the corner. Then his face turned serious, and he walked into their house, and flopped on the couch.

"Teme, we need to talk." Naruto stated.

Sasuke smirked. "What is this? A break up talk? Hate to break it to you dobe, but we're not dating."

Naruto rolled his sky blue eyes, and gestured Sasuke to sit on the couch across from him.

Naruto sighed.

"How bad was it?"

The question caught Sasuke off-guard. He thought this over a little bit more, his eyes flashed a brief look of confusion.

"The nightmare Sasuke; she has one every night."

Sasuke nodded signaling he understood and replied, "She was screaming."

Naruto let out a big breath of air Sasuke hadn't known he was holding in.

"How long did it last for?" Naruto's sky blue eyes looked tortured.

"Long enough that I had to get out of bed, and stop her." Sasuke said observing Naruto's change in mood.

"Really? You got her to stop? How?" Naruto asked, his eyes widening.

Sasuke shrugged as Naruto continued on his rant.

"No one has ever been able to get her to stop without waking her up." Naruto said raising his voice in excitement.

Naruto smiled a smile that reached from ear to ear. He stood up and patted Sasuke on his back.

"Why does she have nightmares?" Sasuke asked quietly.

Naruto practically tripped over his own feet. This was a question he was hoping to avoid. Naruto laughed quietly, not a real laugh. He walked back over to the couch, and his face became serious again.

"Nothing has ever been the same since the day she went on that mission."

**Flashback:**

_Naruto gasped for air as he continued through the cold dark forest looking for any sign of the pink-haired kunoichi. She had been gone for over two month and the Hokage was getting worried. Naruto could just barely make out Neji's anbu uniform up ahead. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Tenten and Shikamaru begin to speed up. He pushed himself to do the same. Suddenly they came to a halt, Neji signaled them to stand by. _

_Soft foot steps approached the group, and Naruto tensed for attack. Suddenly, he recognized the chakra, and jumped out of the bush. He landed face to face with Gaara, and in his arms he carried a pink-haired kunoichi. Her face and ears were bruised and bloody. Her clothes, or what remained of them, hung off her body in tatters, and her eyes were closed._

'_Sakura!' His mind inwardly screamed. 'No wonder I didn't sense her presence, her chakra levels are running dangerously low.'_

_Naruto's eyes hardened, but he thanked Gaara. He took the kunoichi in his arms and rushed back to Konaha's gates. As he rushed back inside the gate,s he heard the sound of a broken cry escape from her mouth, as if she was trying to cry, but didn't have the energy. Naruto set on a determined face and sprinted all the way to the hospital._

**End Flashback.**

Naruto relayed the whole memory to Sasuke. When he had finished Sasuke sat back and processed the information. Then his eyes narrowed.

"What was Gaara doing there? His village is the opposite way." Sasuke growled.

Naruto sighed, "I asked Neji that when he got to the hospital. He said that Gaara was on a mission in the Land of Rice Patties and was heading home when he found her lying on the ground unconscious. We had Tsuande check and confirm it was true. The weird part is that the mission Sakura was on was assigned to the sound village. There was evidence of a sound ninja attack, but the wounds to her ears weren't recent. However, the cuts and bruises on her face seemed to have been made from a whip of some kind."

Naruto shuddered as he replayed the memory of her injuries in her head.

"When she woke up she wouldn't tell anyone what happened to her. All I know is she kept asking to see Gaara. Eventually she got around to asking for me."

**Flashback:**

_Naruto walked down the long hallway biting his lip nervously. He finally reached her hospital room. He paused before opening the door a small crack. He saw Sakura sitting up in her hospital bed. Her face was bandage. The rest of her body was covered in a hospital gown and the blanket. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and her face was covered in a cold sweat. Naruto's eyes softened as he took in the expression on her face. Her smile looked pained and forced. _

"_Naruto…Come in!" Sakura whispered._

_He pushed open the rest of the door, and shut it behind him_

"_Why on earth didn't I get to see you earlier Sakura? You had me worried sick, but they said the only person you wanted to see was Gaara! Why?"_

_Sakura's smile faltered. _

"_I just…..I ju-just wanted to know…. How much he saw and knew…"Sakura stuttered out._

_Naruto's voice softened as he realized how hard he just was on her._

"_Oh Sakura-chan. I'm so sorry. I was just….worried sick about you." He said as he wrapped his arms around her fragile figure gently. _

_Sakura let a soft sob escape from her lips. Naruto sat down on the edge of her bed, wiping Sakura's tears away, as they strolled down her cheeks, and rubbing her back tenderly. _

"_Sakura…What on earth happened to you?" Naruto murmured. _

_Her hands grasped onto his shirt pleadingly. Just then there was a knock on the door. Tsuande barged through without a sparring second._

"_Sakura. I hate to do this to you while you're in a hospital bed, but…. We need to know what happened for the safety of the village. Whatever you tell us will be completely confidential." Tsuande said in a highly demanding manner. The she noticed Naruto was in the room. "Naruto….I'm sorry you need to leave."_

_Naruto began to rise from his seat when a hand stopped him._

"_No wait!" Sakura started. "Keep him….he can stay."_

_Tsuande scowled disapprovingly._

"_Please? It will make it easier for me…" Sakura gulped._

"_Okay. Naruto if I find out that anyone else knows about this. You're dead." Tsuande's voice hardened _

_Naruto nodded seriously and settled back down to hear Sakura's story._

**End Flashback**

Naruto smiled slightly as he conveyed this memory to Sasuke too.

"I can't repeat what happened to her. If she wants to tell you, then she will. Just know that everything changed after that day." Naruto's eyes flashed sadness. "There's a lot you don't know about her Sasuke, and as I'm sure you can see she's not the little girl she used to be. She's not going to open up right away, but I'm confident she will. Don't force things on her. Got it?"

Sasuke nodded slowly replaying what he had heard in his head.

Naruto grinned; his mood turning from serious to childish in an instant.

"Good. Now, let's go train teme!" Naruto's bright blue eyes portrayed excitement.

**The Market:**

Sakura wandered aimlessly around the market. She already had everything she needed; the only thing keeping her there was the time away from the house.

She sighed, as she decided it was time to check out. She grabbed her stuff and headed back to the house. She smiled, as she passed the training grounds where she sensed both boys presence. Hopefully, she'd make it to the house, put away the groceries and have more time to herself. Finally, she reached the house; she pulled out her keys and unlocked the door.

Throwing her keys onto the table, as she walked inside, she started to put the groceries away. When she was finally finished, no one had entered the house, so she decided to go for a much needed walk.

As she walked the busy streets of Konaha, her mind wandered back to a darker time in her life.

**Flashback:**

_Sakura plastered on a smile as she walked into the flower shop. As soon as she entered, she smelled the scent of mixed flowers. The bell rang and alerted the blonde at the front that someone had entered. _

_Sakura occupied herself, looking for a flower that would spark her memory. She followed the labels of the flowers over to the carnations. She was observing the pink one's when she heard a familiar voice._

"_Haven't seen you here in a while." Ino's voice was kind. She followed my vision down to the pink carnations._

"_Pink carnations are a special flower; to tell someone you love that you'll never forget them" Ino smiled. "Whoever you're giving them too must be a lucky person."_

_Sakura grunted and picked up one carnation. Ino smiled to her old best friend and enemy. _

"_First one's on the house." Ino said politely. _

"_Oh no, you don't have too…" Sakura said as nicely as she could._

"_I insist." Ino said as her smile reached her eyes._

"_Thank you so much!" Sakura replied to her former best friend._

_She turned on her heels, and walked out the door. As Ino watched her, her smile faded into a frown. It had been over a year since she had talked to Sakura._

_Half an hour later:_

_Ice cold rain drops soaked Sakura's pink hair, and she didn't care. She grasped the cold granite for support as she fell to her knees, the pink carnation slipped out of her hands. Her fingers brushed the engravings on the stone and she traced the outline of the names on the grave stones._

_Slamming her fist into the ground, she finally let her tears roll down her cheeks._

"_I'm sorry…I wasn't strong enough to protect you. I promise…no I swear… I'll never let anyone go through that pain ever again. I'll find that __**snake," **__She said the word harshly, "and I'll demolish him. His bones will be dust in the wind."_

_Sakura glanced at the names on the grave stone once more and collapsed as her sobs took her to a far away place._

_Here lies:_

_Kimiko Haruno_

_Ikuto Haruno_

_Rest in Peace._

**End Flashback.**

Suddenly, she came to and ran right into Hinata. She stumbled backwards rubbing her temple.

"Oh I'm sorry Hinata! I guess I was just zoning out." Sakura grinned.

"It's okay." Hinata smiled back towards her. I was actually looking for you."

Sakura took in her petite figure. She had changed from that shy little girl into a beautiful young woman. Her hair had grown out and was now shoulder length. Hinata had gotten taller and filled out in all the right areas. Her flawless skin glowed and she attracted many men's stares. Sakura's gaze stopped at Hinata's ring finger.

"You two got engaged?" Sakura asked happily.

Hinata's eyes brightened as she lifted her hand to admire the silver band on her ring finger.

"Ah yes, that's exactly why I was looking for you." Hinata smiled sweetly "I was wondering if you'd do me the honor of being my maid of honor?"

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise as she took in Hinata's offer.

"Really?" Sakura gasped. "That would be…. Amazing! I'd love to Hinata!"

Hinata smiled and Sakura gave her a hug.

"When's the wedding?" Sakura smiled.

"We don't know yet. Naruto hasn't picked a best man yet. He's having a hard time choosing." Hinata smiled. "The actual date is still in planning process, so I'll get back to you on that. Is Naruto at your house?"

"He's either there or they're training. I last saw them at the training grounds. If they aren't there then they're at our house." Sakura said.

They gave each other another hug and said their goodbyes. Sakura grumbled and dropped her smile. She continued walking around Konaha.

Hinata was too nice.

**Training Grounds:**

Sasuke panted as he checked his surroundings once more. He swept the forest with his eyes keeping a sharp look out for the over bubbly blonde ninja. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a bobbing head, and with a mission so swift no normal person could have seen it, he threw a kunai. Luckily for Hinata, she was not a normal person. She dodged the flying kunai, and put her hands on her hips.

Sasuke looked towards her and was about to open his mouth to apologize, when suddenly Naruto was right next to him. He grabbed him into a headlock and grinned.

"Boom. You're dead." Naruto cracked. He loosened his arms around him, and then ran to Hinata's side.

"Did you see that Hinata? I got him!" Naruto gloated.

Hinata smiled at him, and gave him a hug, "Yes good job Naruto-kun!"

Sasuke grunted as he regained his pride. "Unfair advantage. Sorry Hinata."

"That could happen in any mission Sasuke. I win!" Naruto complained.

Hinata giggled and then turned to Naruto. "So I asked Sakura today. She seemed genuinely excited."

Sasuke gave the couple a confused look.

"Oh. I forgot to tell you. I'm engaged." Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

Sasuke sweat dropped and rolled his eyes at him

"Hn, dobe."

Hinata smiled and pecked Naruto on the lips. "I just stopped by to tell you that. Oh, and Sakura said she'd be home in time for dinner so don't attempt making anything Naruto. We all know how that will end up."Sasuke smirked as he imagined Naruto burning down the house with his poor cooking skills.

Naruto smiled as he watched his fiancé skip away.

**Meanwhile else where:**

"Why not?" Sakura asked as she slammed her hand on the Hokage's desk.

"Because you're not ready for it yet Sakura," Tsuande said sternly.

Somehow her wandering had leaded her into the Hokage's office. She had ended up asking about a mission she had yet to give out yet again.

"You think I can't handle it because of the last time! I killed the Akatsuki single handedly; I dragged Sasuke Uchiha back to Konaha! What else do I have to do to prove to you that I am ready to take on this mission?" Sakura yelled putting on her fiercest scowl.

"Until you accept that you cannot take on this mission by **yourself **you will never be assigned this mission. Besides, I am waiting for a certain time to assign this mission. So if you're still not ready by that time you **still **will not be going on this mission. It's an S-class mission, it's one of the most dangerous I would assign." Tsuande paused letting it sink into her head. "I understand your want to get this over with, but I'm telling you Sakura, you have to wait. Otherwise your mission will fail, and you will be dead."

Sakura let out a breath of air, but Tsuande knew she had gotten through to her…for today.

**Later that night:**

Sasuke was at the house with Naruto relaxing when he felt Sakura's chakra presence near by. Sakura's keys turned the lock in the door and she entered the house with a small smile plastered on her face.

It was fake.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto sighed and reached out to pull her into a hug.

"Hi Naruto-kun." She said sweetly, and then turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded as Naruto gave him a sharp look. He walked to the stairs and up to his room.

"I asked Tsuande for the mission again. She still won't give it to me. How much longer do you think it will take before she will give it to me? " Sakura's eyes saddened. "Next week will be two years since they've been gone…and since my life changed."

Naruto gave her a pointed look.

"Sakura-chan…Your life didn't change because of you. You did nothing wrong. You couldn't do anything to save them, you were trapped." Naruto said rubbing her back.

"Naruto….thank you. "

Sakura let out a soft sob. Naruto wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on his shoulder until she fell asleep. Little to be known Sasuke heard the whole exchange. Naruto carried her sleeping form up the stairs nodding at Sasuke.

"Take care of her." Naruto sighed and handed her over to him.

When Naruto had left Sasuke continued to carry Sakura up to her room. As he laid her in her bed he heard her emit a soft moan. Looking down, he expected there to be a frown on her face. Instead there was a smile.

'Sakura Haruno, there's a lot I don't know about you, but I will find out.' Sasuke vowed.

And with that he walked to his own room and closed his bedroom door.

**Mission Memories Revealed: Accomplished**

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PLEASE REVIEWW. I put in a tonnnnn of hard workkk on this chapter and the rest will become more interesting! I promise!

**Thank you to my reviews so far:**

**xKurai: Thank you so much! I hope to make this story as enjoyable as possible.**

**WhatChuuKnowAboutMe: Thank you! I hope you like it! **

**mistressinwaiting: Haha yes I found that Sakura taking his sword was quite enjoyable too! I love how she tease's him and acts like she doesn't know what he's talkign about. Hope you liked this chapter too!**

**SOOOOO I'm shooting for 5 reviews for real? Pleaseee? Thank youuu.**


	5. Mission: Reminders

**Hiiii guys. I would like to apologize in advance for this chapter because it's not long and not as detailed as I wanted, but my friend who helps me with some details is on vacation ):**

**Disclaimer: Neji's offically mine, I branded my name on his boootay ;) Naruto's up for sale guys! :D**

**I**** may redo this chapter later on because I realllyyyyy do not like how I did it, but review and give me tips and pointers and ideas anyways pleasee. I'm shootin for ten reviews this time CANWEDOIT? :D**

**&&& HERE WE GOO **

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Mission: Reminders

**Dream:**

Little Sasuke Uchiha walked aimlessly around Konaha. His parents had been quietly debating when he had left. Even thought it was fairly hot outside Sasuke shivered. His parents never fought. He continued to walk around day-dreaming until a small cry brought him back to the world.

He glanced towards the direction it came from, and saw a few girls gathered around a small tree. Sasuke grew curious and moved closer to the group. He stopped when he could finally hear their voices and could see a small pink-haired girl crouched down by the base of the tree. Her face was hidden in-between her knees and her arms shielded her from the rest of the group.

He proceeded to back away, but then a voice he recognized stopped him.

"Just leave Forehead girl! Nobody even likes you. You're a waste of human life!" The voice came from the red haired girl in the center of the group. She lifted the pink girls head up to show that she was crying.

"Don't cry! Look at that unnaturally PINK hair! Just admit you dye it!"

The little girl let out a soft sob.

Out of no where there was a loud sound of skin connecting with skin. Sasuke's eyes widened, horrified at what he had just witnessed. He ran towards the girl as she lifted her hand up to slap the pink-haired girl again. He caught her hand in midair and got her in a choke hold

"Apologize." Sasuke grunted.

One by one the girls' expressions changed from shock to flirty and innocent.

"Sasuke-kun!" They all shrieked at once.

The girl in his arms' shoulders slumped signaling she was close to passing out.

"I said, Apologize." He said more forcefully this time pushing his arm further into the red heads neck.

"I'm sorry" The girls shrieked. Sasuke let the girl drop to the ground.

As soon as the girl had gained air her pale blue eyes looked up to him questioningly.

"Sasuke-kun. Why would you stand up for a freak like her?" The red haired girl complained scrambling to her feet.

"Leave now." He glared at the girls as they retreated. "If I ever catch you messing with her again you're dead."

Sasuke scoffed and proceeded to bend down. The pink-haired girl was grasping her cheek where she had been slapped and tears were rolling down her cheeks. Sasuke wiped them away and brushed the hair out of her face. He found himself staring into the most captivating emerald-green eyes. He shook himself out of his daze, and got up the nerve to speak.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked as his onyx black eyes softened.

He took her hand from the place where the girl had slapped her and noticed it was swelling.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said putting on a smile.

"I think your forehead is nice." Sasuke said grinning. "My favorite colors pink."

And to his amusement she laughed a sing-song kind of laugh. Then the laugh changed into an evil laugh.

He opened his eyes. He was no longer with the pink-haired girl; instead he was at his house, in front of the door leading to his parent's room.

He inwardly shuddered, and braced himself to open the door. Sasuke pushed the screen door open.

Blood; and a lot of it. He searched the room for an explanation and found his parents' bodies lying on the floor, with huge holes through the chest. Sasuke's eyes widened and he screamed. He turned around and ran towards Itachi's room. Along the way he bumped into his brother. Sasuke pulled on his shirt dragging him down the hallway.

"Nii-san! Someone killed them! They're dead! Hurry up!" Sasuke said hysterically.

"I know." Itachi's cold voice came.

Sasuke looked into his brother's eyes only to find his Mangekyou sharingan activated.

And in that moment he swore revenge on Itachi for what he did to his family, but within the next second everything went black.

**End Dream**

Sasuke Uchiha woke with a start, it was the first time he had dreamt about the murder of his clan in years.

He checked the clock in his room and noted that it was blinking 7:30. Sasuke sighed knowing he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep and sat upright in his bed rubbing his temple.

'_The memory of the past wouldn't come back to me unless it had a certain reason. What is it trying to portray to me? Am I mad at myself for not being the one to kill Itachi?' _Sasuke thought.

No, no that wasn't it, and Sasuke knew it. Finally realization dawned on him. The other goal he had yet to complete. It was a reminder.

**Time Lapse! :D**

Sakura woke up migraine free. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and yawned. Sakura threw the bed sheet off of her and stared at her ceiling.

'_Wait, bed? How did I get here? The last thing I remember is talking to Naruto…' _Sakura sighed as her thoughts drifted to something else.

She hadn't had a nightmare last night. Her dream was actually a pleasant one, it brought her back memories that she would have loved to relive if she had the chance; but she knew that she couldn't get used to it. The nightmares would return soon enough as they always had.

The pink-haired kunoichi groaned as she got out of bed. She glanced at the clock as she made her way to the shower. It was 10. She actually had slept late for once. Sakura moaned as the hot water hit her body and released all of the knots in her back. After a nice, refreshing, half an hour long shower she headed downstairs to find the house empty.

Sakura proceeded to scan the room for any information and spotted a note on the table.

_Sakura,_

_Had to run some errands._

_-S_

She let out a breath of relief that she hadn't known she was holding. Sakura grabbed an apple and thought for a second. Today she had to work a later shift at the hospital for Tsuande. She had until 1 in the afternoon to lounge around and do whatever. Sakura decided to go for a walk.

**Time Lapse :D**

Sasuke let out a long breath as he listened to the over-active blonde chatter beside him. It was around 12 in the afternoon now. The weather was getting colder, and it was the end of November. Sasuke had dragged Naruto out of his house to tell him what had happened at the Hokage's office.

**Flashback:**

_Sasuke pushed open the doors to the Hokage's office. It was now 9 in the morning and the sun had fully risen into the sky. The Hokage glanced at Sasuke signaling him to enter._

"_Ah Sasuke. What brings me the honor of your presence?" Tsuande asked, not really looking at him._

"_I want freedom. This whole 'you have to be with a Black Op all the time' thing isn't working for me. Also I want missions"_

_Tsuande glanced at him briefly._

"_This is not to be discussed. That is your punishment for abandoning this village, and you must accept it." _

"_Why? You know if I really wanted too I could get through all the Black Ops. Besides, by putting me in the position to be guarded all the time your numbers are diminished. We all know how much Konaha needs your ninja right now." Sasuke stated. _

_Tsuande's face stayed blank. He knew that meant she was processing his words and taking them into consideration._

"_And by you giving me missions and having me work up you're gaining another warrior." Sasuke continued._

"_You don't think I haven't thought this through Sasuke? I'm not fully convinced you're planning to stay in this village. Why should I trust you?" Tsuande sneered. "History repeats after all."_

_Sasuke smirked at her. "I have no intention of leaving the village."_

_Tsuande snickered. "And why's that?"_

"_Because I still have a goal to fulfill here."_

**End Flashback**

"So you got her to lift the Black Op thing from your head? I'm sure she wasn't to happy about it, but you made a great point." Naruto said frowning. "I'm guessing Sakura doesn't know yet?"

"No, and don't tell her. The Hokage said she'd talk to her about it."

Naruto grinned childishly.

Sasuke smirked at his best friend.

"Oh by the way! I know this may a bit quick for you, but Sasuke you're going to be my best man at my wedding." Naruto's grin widened.

Sasuke began to protest, but was cut off by Naruto's loud voice.

"It's only fair and I already told Hinata I asked you so you're stuck." He said rubbing the back of his head.

Sasuke sweat dropped.

"But seriously, couldn't you have told me all of this, oh I dunno inside somewhere? " Naruto asked shivering as a small snow flake fluttered down and hit his nose, dissolving instantly.

"Hn. I like the cold." Sasuke stated.

Then he sensed Sakura's presence approaching them.

"Naruto-san! I was looking for you two." Sakura smiled. "I'm working today from 1 until 9 so I'll be gone for most of the day. Will you stay at the house until I'm back Naruto?"

Sasuke gave Naruto a pointed look that didn't go unnoticed by Sakura.

"What?" Sakura asked looking from both of the guys.

"Well good Hokage practice right?" Naruto asked glancing anxiously at Sasuke, and then pulled his gaze totally on Sakura.

"He no longer needs a member of the Black Ops surrounding him all the time." Naruto declared. "The Hokage feels that having a Black Ops member stay with him at all times will decrease our numbers of much needed ninja."

Sakura's mouth fell open.

"So what? He's just allowed to go free? Poof like that?" Sakura started her words getting louder by the minute. "What if he decides to leave again out of no where?"

"Sakura even if I was planning on leaving there would be nothing you could do to stop me." Sasuke assured her.

"Don't speak to me like that. I hate to break it to you, but I was the one who dragged your sorry ass back here. I'm not a weak little girl anymore Uchiha. I'm pretty sure I could stop you." Sakura hissed.

Sasuke smirked and Sakura glowered.

"Don't test me Uchiha. I will wipe that smirk right off your oh-so-perfect face"

"Whoa now you two." Naruto said grabbing Sakura's arm. "Sakura if you have an issue with this you need to assess it with the Hokage. There's nothing I can do about it."

Sakura inwardly fumed and stalked off.

"Well I'm glad you think its fun to mess with her, but go easy on her. She already dislikes you, why make it worse?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shook his head watching as Sakura's form disappeared into the distance.

Sakura hyperventilated all the way to the hospital to try to calm herself down. She was afraid if she didn't then she'd have another patient to attend to in the hospital. Sakura exhaled the last breath of rage she had as she entered the sliding glass doors of the hospital. Looking around in the waiting room, she noticed that almost no one was in the lobby. The pink-haired girl walked up to the counter and received her patient schedule. As soon as she headed off to her first patients room her mind wandered.

She was such a natural at healing that she could do it with her eyes closed. After a long day of healing and one surgery, she dragged herself to the Hokage's office to address the issue at hand.

She slid the door open and flopped on the chair in Tsunade's office. Tsuande slowly moved her gaze from her papers to Sakura.

""Hmm?" Tsuande asked her.

Sakura's body relaxed in her chair and readied herself for the conversation at hand.

"I'm opposed to Sasuke being let off punishment so soon, and came to talk to you about it." Sakura sighed.

Tsunade scowled, "Sakura, I can't loose valuable ninja like you to stick around guarding a runaway rouge ninja who could just escape at any time anyways."

Sakura exhaled noisily.

"At least make him start from scratch Tsuande. That…traitor doesn't deserve to even walk on this earth let alone in Konaha, the town he so ruthlessly betrayed."

Tsunade's eyes softened. "Sakura….I understand you have harbored bad feelings towards the Uchiha for many things, but if we can get him to stay on our side, we have a huge advantage in this war."

"That's why you should let me go on that mission Tsunade!" Sakura bellowed. "If I kill him….. Then the whole center of this pointless war between the Sound Village and the Leaf Village will be over! "

Tsunade frowned and shook her head.

"Sakura, no. You're not getting that mission just give up on it for now. I'll assign it when I think you're ready for it."

Sakura stalked out of the room slamming the Hokage's door. She fumed all the way back to the Uchiha residence where she took out her rage on the outside gates.

Slamming her fists into the stone wall, she cursed the Hokage. Sakrua let her hand fall down to her side and watched the blood drip from her knuckles.

**Back in the Hokage's Office**

Tsuande leaned back into her chair reliving the goal that was keeping Sasuke Uchiha bound to this village.

**Flashback:**

"_And what is this goal exactly that would keep you from leaving this village again?" Tsuande asked._

"_Rebuilding my clan." Sasuke stated._

**End Flashback**

**Mission Reminders: Achieved**

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**Ohhhhh Sasuke pulled a fast one on uss.**

**Okay so the dream eh? This chapter is soo short, I promise a longer one next time. **

**Thank you to my SIX reviews i got this time :D Herewegooo:**

**bittersweetmusicgirl: Thank you for the encourgagement it means a tonn.**

**raven rose 101: Thank you sooo much!**

**Aktsuki Sakura Uchiha: Hmmm who knows? Sakura's a little rebel! ;D**

**WhatChuuKnowBoutMe: Thank you so much!**

**Kumiko-oneechan: Thank you! (:**

**Runaway-Princess: Thanks! The next chapters will become more interesting. I already know basically what I'm going to have happen.**

**Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter! (: Review. Flames are welcome.**


	6. Mission: Escort

**HEY okay so I figured 7 reviews was good enough for the next chapter. If I ACTUALLY get 10 reviews this time thought I'll make the next chapter longer (:**

**Disclaimer: Okay so I killed the GUY who owned Sasuke and was molesting him, so I now own Sasuke. Neji's for sale any takers? ;D**

**HEREWEGO.**

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**Mission: Escort**

Sasuke jogged down the road to the Hokage's office. After yesterday's declaration he was supposed to meet with her and discuss the terms for his missions and training activities. When he arrived at the Hokage's office he heard a familiar voice talking to the Hokage in hushed tones. He strained to hear what they were talking about.

"Tsunade, it'd never been more critical. You need me to do this mission. Now!" Sakura groaned

"Sakura for the last time going after him now will do no good. We need more time to prepare for this mission." Tsunade said focused on Sakura.

"Tsunade, he's going to have more time to prepare and see it comi-"

Tsunade's eyebrows lifted and cut Sakura off before she could finish.

"Sasuke, you may enter."

Sasuke bowed respectfully knowing he had been caught ease dropping.

"Just the person I needed to see. Sakura you stay too." Tsunade nodded. "In a couple of days there will be a ninja arriving from the Hidden Village of Mist. You two are to escort her to the Hidden Village of Cloud. The only thing that may be valuable about this girl, besides an ally, is she has mastered Haran Banshou. "(See bottom to understand what this is.) Tsunade explained. "We expect little to no trouble on this mission. The rank is a class B."

Sakura groaned, but thankfully kept her comments to herself. Sasuke nodded taking in all the details.

Tsunade turned her attention to Sakura.

"I'm trusting you will make sure that Sasuke stays on track and doesn't wonder off so to say." Tsunade asked.

"Of course Tsunade-sama." Sakura answered robotically.

Tsunade gave a knowing glance towards Sasuke and then sent Sakura on her way.

When Sakura's presence had left the building, Tsunade's gaze was back on Sasuke.

"Yes Uchiha, I know your goal, but who are you planning on being with to complete the goal?" Tsunade asked him.

"I haven't really thought about it." Sasuke scoffed.

Tsunade eyed the Uchiha as his mind flashed back to a conversation he had with Naruto earlier that day.

**Flashback:**

"_So Sasuke your possibilities for completing your goal are Ino, Tenten, Sakura, and Temari." Naruo examined. "So I'll let you know the pros and cons of each girl."_

_Sasuke nodded signaling for him to go on._

"_Ino has a steady job at the flower shop so there's never a question about that. Part time medic nin. She's spunky, and kind. Mean when she needs to be. She used to be your fan girl and she could still have feelings for you. She's pretty smart, and gorgeous she's not a kunoichi any more so she can stay home and raise the kids. Cons are that she's a little too spunky for you. She could still be your fan girl. She's really loud and you're really not…loud. She has a bad temper. Shikamaru would stand in your way and he's a genius. That's about it for Ino." Naruto explained._

"_Hn." Sasuke said. _

"_Tenten is a kunoichi. She's strong and independent. Has a talent for weapons which along with your sharingan could be a devastating duo. Cons Tenten is dating Neji. Tenten has never liked you, she's loud. She wouldn't be home for most of the time due to missions." Naruto explained_

"_Sakura is the leader of the ANBU Black Ops. She's strong in many ways. Sakura is also a medic ninja which would be valuable to your children. She was a former fan girl and had feelings for you. She could keep you in line easily. Cons are Sakura can't stand you. You're polar opposites Like Ino she has a bad temper. Sakura will smack you around if she needs too. She has goals in her life that she doesn't want anyone to interfere with. Sakura has a past that you don't know about. She's been hurt many times so it may be hard to get her to feel for you again." Naruto continued._

"_Temari is a kunoichi visiting from the Sand village. She's strong and can get by on her own. She's a user of the fan which could be valuable for your children. She's nice and can take care of herself. Cons are that she lives in the Village hidden by Sand. Gaara would kick your ass. Temari has a thing for Shikamaru too." Naruto said. "So there are your choices. You have some things to think about huh?"_

_Sasuke smirked. It had to be Sakura; he was up for the challenge._

**End Flashback**

Tsunade rolled her eyes as Sasuke spaced out. She flicked an eraser at his nose pushing him out of his daze.

"Go prepare for your mission. You leave in about 3 days." Tsunade said.

"Hn." Sasuke complied with her demand and left her office.

He made his way back home where he walked in to Sakura preparing dinner for them. She kept her back towards him, he noticed her shoulders were tensed, she was expecting something; so naturally, he delivered.

"So Sakura," Sasuke started smirking. "What's this mission you were talking to Tsunade about?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sakura said her figure stayed turned towards the stove.

Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes. (He's to cool to actually do it xDD) He walked into the kitchen and turned Sakura so she was facing him. Sakura took a step backwards and Sasuke took on forwards cornering her between the wall and his arms.

"Sakura, just tell me. I can help you convince Tsunade to give you it."

"Sasuke, you must have heard something wrong…I-" Sakura stuttered as she pushed her hand against his chest.

Sasuke grabbed her wrist securely pushing his chest against her, moving her petite figure further against the wall of the kitchen.

"Sakura," Sasuke sighed glaring at her.

Sakura looked anywhere, but his face; she stayed silent. Sasuke grabbed her face forcing her to look at him.

Sakura gulped, and caved. "The mission is to kill Orochimaru …"

Sasuke's face became confused, but he stepped back from the wall. Once Sakura had her personal space back she used it to escape to her room before he could question her further. Before she got very far Sasuke called out.

"Wait, Sakura!" Sasuke called.

"Dinner's done." Sakura said calmly then proceeded to her room.

Sakura avoided Sasuke for the rest of the week. The only times where she couldn't avoid him was in her sleep. She'd have nightmares and Sasuke would still faithfully come and sooth her into a dreamless sleep without her knowledge.

**The Night before the Mission:**

Sakura covered her head with her pillow trying to muffle the sounds of thunder and the sight of lightening coming from her bedroom window. She had always been afraid of thunderstorms. When she was a little girl she'd always sleep with her parents during thunderstorms, and when they died she'd have Naruto come over.

But she would not cave in and go to the one person she hated most during a thunderstorm. Sakura would not be humiliated and degraded like she was that night.

A huge clap of thunder sounded through out her room causing her to yelp, and panic.

Motivated by her terror, Sakura leaped out of bed and walked to the door holding onto her pillow tightly. She knocked softly on Sasuke's door and received a "Hn." from the other side signaling her to come in.

Sakura pushed open the door to see Sasuke sitting up in his bed looking at her like she was insane.

"What is so important that you wake me up at 1 in the morning?" Sasuke demanded

"Well….uhm….." Sakura fiddled with her fingers suddenly feeling foolish. If it wasn't dark in the room Sasuke would have seen her blush for the first time in ages.

Another huge clap of thunder rolled through the house causing her to shriek. Sasuke's eyes flashed understanding and he pated his bed.

"Come." He said.

She climbed into his bed sinking down into the warmth of it, and closed her eyes. Soon Sasuke heard her even breathing and proceeded to lie back down. He sighed.

Then he heard her murmur something about her parents, and figured that a nightmare was coming.

"Sasuke….-kun…" She said in her sleep, and proceeded to roll over onto his chest. The only way he knew she was sleeping was her chest was still moving up and down evenly.

Sakura Haruno was defiantly a piece of work.

**The Next Morning:**

Sakura awoke in the morning to find that her pillow was awfully hard. She groaned and shifted as she slowly opened her eyes. Her bright green orbs adjusted to the new sun light and took in her surroundings. Sakura sleepily noticed that she was in Sasuke's bed. Then she realized something was off. Her pillow was moving. Not moving more like breathing. Sakura looked up and noticed that she had fallen asleep…on Sasuke Uchiha's chest.

She covered her mouth as she gasped making sure she made no sounds She glanced up at his face to stare into onyx black eyes, He had an amused smirk on his face when he had seen her reaction.

"Sleeping beauty finally wakes up." Sasuke said jokingly.

Sakura sat straight up and suffered a small black out, and dizziness.

"I'm sorry…" Sakura frowned.

Sasuke shook his head and his smirk spread into an amused smile.

Sakura was captivated. She hadn't seen him smile….in years.

'_He should smile more often.' _She thought to herself.

She snapped herself out of it when Sasuke spoke.

"So Sakura, Why are you afraid of thunderstorms?" Sasuke asked interested.

Sakura glowered. "I've been afraid of them ever since I was little, but my parents were killed during a thunderstorm…"

"Ahhh." Sasuke grimaced.

"Yeah." Sakura's eyes softened.

"Can I tell you something?" Sasuke asked.

"Sure." Sakura said.

"I'm afraid of…" Sasuke took a deep breath and Sakura readied herself for a serious answer. "Pigeons."

Sakura cracked up, and Sasuke kept a straight face. After five minutes of constant giggles from Sakura, she noticed his face was grim.

"Oh you were….serious?" Sakura asked smiling. "Why?"

Sasuke glared at her. "When I was six one tried to mate with my head. It was a very disturbing experience. He got his friends in on it too." Sasuke visibly shuddered.

Sakura tried to contain her laughter and keep a straight face, but failed miserably.

Sasuke growled and pushed himself off his bed. Sakura continued to laugh until she realized he was heading into his bathroom.

"Wait, Sasuke!" When Sakura had his attention she continued with a smile on her face. "Thank you." Sasuke memorized the curve of her lips and pushed the door to his bathroom closed.

Sakura sighed flopping back onto his bed as she heard the water from the shower start.

There was no way that she could think Sasuke Uchiha was not that bad. He had abandoned her and the village in the search for power.

She cursed herself for hating thunderstorms, as she walked to her room grabbing her ANBU Black Ops uniform, readying herself for a long week.

**Later that day:**

Around 3 later that day Sakura and Sasuke sprinted to the Gates of Konaha. Both were wearing ANBU Black Ops uniforms. Sasuke had gotten his for Tsuande earlier that day. The Uchiha tightened his Hidden Leaf headband. Even with the weight of his Katana on his back he still stood straight at the height of 6'3. Sakura on the other hand stood completely still at her height of 5'7 and stayed silent. She hadn't said another word to Sasuke since that morning. They stood there and awaited the Hokage's arrival.

In the distance they sensed the Hokage's presence accompanied by an unfamiliar chakra. Finally, The Hokage reached them and by her side stood a girl looking to be about 17 years old. Her eyes were icy blue and her black hair was shoulder length. Her Mist village head band was the divider in her hair, like Sakura used to wear it. The girl smiled at Sasuke, and stuck out her hand to greet them, err Sasuke.

"Hi I'm Kimiko Miyagi." She said urging Sasuke to take her hand. Sasuke smirked and Sakura glowered.

Sasuke took her hand and introduced himself. "Sasuke Uchiha. Grumpy girl over there is Sakura Haruno."

Sakura glared at Sasuke. "I can introduce myself thank you very much."

Tsunade took charge of the situation. "Alright you guys know your mission. Get going."

The three began walking, Sasuke on the left of Kimiko. Well, more like two centimeters to the left of her seeing as how she was attached to his arm, and Sakura a safe distance away to the left. Sakura ignored the girls babble and ran through a plan through her head. The fastest way to the Hidden Mist was follow the path a little longer and through the forest. Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by Kimiko's soprano voice.

"You're hair is pink! Is it natural?" Kimiko sang.

Sakura winced as the conversation turned towards her. "Yes. My mother had it…"

"Had it?" Kimiko asked seemingly confused.

"She passed away almost two years ago." Sakura stated nonchalantly.

Kimiko's mouth dropped and her sympathy seemed a little to fake for Sakura's liking.

"I'm so sorry." Kimiko frowned.

"Yeah don't worry about it." Sakura groaned.

She's always hated pity. Sakura could feel Sasuke's dark orbs on her, so she lifted her gaze to meet his. Apparently Kimiko noticed this, and began to chatter to Sasuke again. She regained his attention and Sakura started ignoring them again.

**Later**

It had only been three hours into the trip and Sakura was already sick of this girl. The raven haired girl kept bumping into Sakura with her hip and didn't even seem to care. Kimiko kept talking and wouldn't shut up about Sasuke and his family. She pointed out and noticed all of his good features, she was hanging onto his arm and the worst part is that Sasuke seemed to be enjoying it.

'_No,' _Sakura thought, _'I'm not jealous of her.'_

Sasuke smirked as he glanced at Sakura from the corner of his eye. He could tell she was fuming, she had been quiet for the past three hours while the girl beside him had been going on and on about her future. To tell you the truth Sasuke was getting annoyed by the girls chatter too, but he enjoyed making Sakura jealous, and he thought it was time to kick it up a notch by flirting back.

"My family is ranked second in my village under the usage of water techniques." She said.

"Oh?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her innocently. "That's an honor. Maybe you could teach me some things sometime."

Kimiko squealed and nodded eagerly. Sakura recoiled when she heard Sasuke say a full sentence to the girl. Up until now he had just been grunting, smiling, hn-ing, in the appropriate spots, but now he was trying to actually make conversation to _her _this girl he barely knew, when Sakura had been trying to communicate with him for years. Sakura fumed silently listening to they're conversation. It was going to be a long trip.

**Mission Escort: In-Progress**

Haran Banshou is a Ninjutsu technique utilzing the Water Element. After forming the needed hand seals, the user will create a waterfall to slam into her opponent.

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**OKAY I hope you liked it as much as i liked writting it. So show some love and review? (:**

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** .O: Well there you gooo (:**

**NEXT CHAPTERRR AFTER 10 REVIEWS! GOOOOOO GOOO.**


	7. Mission: Escort Continued

**I know I promised you guys a longer chapter but there was no other way that I could drag this out! Thank you guys for the Reviews. I need 10 for this capter again and please flames are welcome. I need help with my fighting scenes so feel free to flame :D**

**If I stopp updating so much it's kuz school starts September 7th for me. How many of you are in school already? xD**

**DISCLAIMER: Sasuke's butt has been branded with my name (: Sorry guys.**

**OKAY well here we are Chapter 7 and I'm proud I have made it this far all because of you guys! OH AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO DANIELLE FOR HELPING ME WITH MY STORY. I LOVE YOU! 3**

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**Mission: Escort Continued**

Sakura sighed and forced herself to sit down around the campfire. Damp leaves and mud clung to her ANBU outfit, and the sun had fallen behind the trees. Sakura had offered to take first watch, leaving Sasuke to sleep in the tent with Kimiko, not like she cared. The forest around her was pitch black heightening her sense of hearing. She relaxed for a moment taking in the sounds of the crickets and frogs. Sakura strained her ears. There was a small buzzing hum far away into the forest. She stood up, automatically gathering chakara to her fists.

There was a rustling in the brush a little ways from her. Sasuke was out of the tent within seconds, Kimiko not far behind.

Sakura frowned communicating with Sasuke via eyes. Now they heard crunching of leaves and branches.

"Sound nin." Sasuke grunted hearing the buzzing. Sakura nodded knowingly.

"Kimiko, back into the tent. Mask your chakara. Stay silent." Sakura barked orders to her.

Kimiko followed her orders.

Sasuke scoped out the forest as Sakura circled the campsite.

Sakura's heightened chakara senses told her that there were four ninja. Each was on separate sides of their campsite. They weren't passing through. They were being ambushed.

A sound from her right caught Sakura off guard. A sound nin about four heads taller then Sakura rushed towards Sakura' side as another raced towards Sasuke. The sound ninja pushed his chakra filled hand at Sakura's face. She dodged just in time wincing as the sound waves pounded in her eardrums. Sakura sent her chakra filled fist right into his stomach, pushing him backwards.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had drawn his Katana and was fending off the other sound-A bulky man- ninja easily. A second sound ninja- this one a girl who looked to be about 10- raced towards his back, chakara fist outstretched. Sasuke turned around quickly, grabbing his wrist and flung him into his other opponent. He activated his sharingan and anticipated every one of the sound ninja's moves.

The last Sound ninja- An older woman-came after Sakura pushing the sound waves into her stomach. Sakura took a sharp breath and wretched. She grabbed her kunai, as a diversion, as the first sound ninja snuck up from behind her. The older women smirked and charged at Sakura again. Quickly, she gathered chakara into her hands. The old woman knocked the kunai out of her hands, as Sakura's left hand came up pumping chakara into the sound ninja's heart causing the sound nin to collapse.

Sakura elbowed the man in the stomach when she sensed he was behind her. Sakura turned around, deflected his chakra filled fist pulling his outstretched arm out of socket and kneed him in his stomach. The sound ninja ignored his pain and jumped backwards. Sakura charged the sound ninja landing a direct punch to his face sending him flying.

While this was going on Kimiko grabbed the kunai Sakura had lost and held it in her hands for protection, when a fifth sound ninja they hadn't heard snuck up on her. She turned around and screamed just as the fifth sound ninja- a younger boy of about 15- pushed a chakara filled kunai through her stomach. She plunged the kunai into his chest blindly and then collapsed.

Sakura hit a pressure point on the fourth mans neck causing him to pass out. The sight Sakura turned around to was gruesome. The fifth sound ninja had a kunai stuck deep in the middle of his chest. An attempt made by Kimiko to protect herself no doubt. Kimiko herself was on the ground with a huge gaping hole through her stomach. Sakura growled as Sasuke finished off his two sound ninja.

"I'll take care of him. Heal her." Sasuke called.

Sakura nodded already gathering chakara to her hands. She bent down over Kimiko and pumped chakara into the hole. She knew that if she didn't finish fast Kimiko would die from blood loss. She poured her chakara into Kimiko until she regained consciousness and wrapped her wound in a piece of cloth from her ANBU outfit. Sakura felt a sharp pain shoot up her leg, but she ignored it, and helped Kimiko into a safer place. Sakura breathed heavily, as she sat down and pulled the kunai out of her leg. The blood poured from her leg at an enormous rate. She used the little chakara she had left to stop the bleeding; and for Sakura the world went black.

**The Next Morning:**

Sakura's eyes snapped open only to look up into Sasuke Uchiha's mocking face. She turned to see Kimiko pouting by his side, and realized she was being carried by him. Sakura scowled and waved her hand at him.

"Put me down." Sakura's hoarse voice rang out. "I can walk by myself."

Sasuke smirked, but shook his head no. She punched his chest as hard as she could which in this state wasn't very hard. Sasuke sighed and put her down. Sakura attempted to stand, until a searing pain rushed up her left leg. She collapsed and got a face full of dirt. Sasuke smirked and pulled a moaning Sakura back into his arms.

She turned her attention to Kimiko and watched how she walked. She wasn't wincing so she seemed like she'd be fine.

Kimiko continued to pout every now and then getting Sasuke's attention to make small talk. Sakura sat there and fumed as she was carried to the next village in an Uchiha's arms. Once they reached the village hidden in the grass they took Kimiko and Sakura to the hospital to be checked out. Kimiko was okayed and let out of the hospital after a small check up. Sakura on the other hand was taking longer. The medic had healed her leg, but was trying to push Sakura to stay in the hospital to regain chakara. Sakura sighed as the nurse pestered her to stay her over night

She pushed her way out of the horde of nurses and doctors and caught up to Kimiko and Sasuke in the waiting room. A small woman trailed after her. Sasuke raised his eyebrows as the young women immediately talked to Sasuke about convincing Sakura to stay in the hospital. Sakura inwardly fumed.

"What makes you think I can make her stay?" Sasuke asked.

"Well I figured that she was your girlfriend so you could talk some sense into her."

That broke Sakura's calm façade. Sasuke had an amused smile on his face.

"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Sakura turned towards the small woman menacingly. "I can take care of myself."

Sakura stalked off and out of the hospital doors. Hopefully, going somewhere to take out her anger.

The small woman's eyes widened in horror. "I'm so sorry! I just thought because you carried her in…"

Sasuke nodded. "I'm sorry. She's a little moody."

And with that Sasuke turned on his heel and walked out the door, Kimiko bowed and said a respectful "Thank you." And followed him out the door.

**Once They Found Sakura:**

Sakura's sweat rolled down her brow as she threw one last punch at the tree knocking it over.

Sasuke approached her with an amused look on his face; Kimiko behind him.

Sakura paced back and forth. "How could she think I would ever EVER date you!" Sakura shrieked.

Sasuke shrugged and his amused smirk widened.

"Why'd you take it so defensively Sakura? You're trying to over defend yourself. Sounds like someone likes me more then she lets on."

Sakura stared at him eyes wide, speechless. She glared at him profusely and flew a string of cuss words at him. She growled and stalked off towards the villages' exit. The two took their time following her.

**An Hour Later:**

When they finally made it to The Village Hidden in the Mist the sun had started to set. Sakura had been sulking the whole way there. Kimiko on the other hand was clinging to Sasuke's arm. When they arrived at the small place she directed them too and old man in his 50's stepped out to greet them. He was a thin man at the height of 5'7. His eye color was hard to make out with such little light; His hair had gone gray and was thinning at the top, and he had a friendly smile on his face.

"Hello and welcome, my name is Kenji Nagano, and I am Kimiko's family trainer." Kenji said. "Thank you for escorting her along the way. I hope your journey here was no trouble at all."

Sasuke nodded signaling Sakura to keep her mouth shut about the Sound ninja. Kimiko on the other hand did not get the hint.

"Oh no, we ran into some Sound Ninja and these two were pretty beat up afterwards. They stabbed me, but she's a medic nin and saved my life with her healing powers!" Kimiko squealed gesturing at Sakura.

"Oh no you must be exhausted! Come in, come in!" The old man ushered.

Sasuke and Sakura passed a look, but entered the house anyways.

"You two must stay for the night! It's the least I can do." The Old man smiled.

Sakura gave the old man an uncertain look and said. "I think we might head back to the village tonight."

"Oh no! You have almost no chakara left! We insist you two stay for the night!" Kimiko smiled fakely.

Sakura grinded her teeth together, but Sasuke spoke up.

"I think we'll rest the night and continue on in the morning. Thank you."

The old man smiled, "Great. The only problem is one of you must share a room and there's a tiny guest bedroom for the other person."

Kimiko grabbed Sasuke by the arm, already determined to have him as her roommate. Sakura clenched her fists, but plastered a smile on her face. Sasuke shrugged and the old man dismissed the two up the stairs.

Kimiko practically dragged Sasuke up to their room to show him where they would be staying.

The old man smiled and showed Sakura to her room. She entered the tiny guest bedroom which in fact was tiny, and thanked the old man.

"The bathroom is connected to your room through that door, which is also connected to the room Sasuke is staying in. I will call you downstairs when dinner is ready. I hope you enjoy your stay Sakura." The old man smiled.

"Thank you so much!" Sakura said.

Only later did she realize they had never told the old man their names.

**Later that night:**

Dinner had actually gone pretty well. Kenji had asked Sasuke and Sakura about past missions. He had asked a little about their life and he had even cracked some jokes. Kimiko had of course been clinging to Sasuke, but Sakura had gotten used to it now. Sasuke glanced at the clock next to the king sized bed; it read 9:54 p.m. He sighed and leaned back on the bed. He had let Kimiko go to the bathroom first, and was now regretting it. What girls did in the bathroom for two hours was unknown to him. He closed his eyes and heard the door open a small bit. He ignored it.

Kimiko's footsteps approached the bed, and then her breath was right next to him.

"Sasuke-kun…" Her voice sounded in his ear.

Sasuke's onyx orbs snapped open to Kimiko's pretty much nude body. The only thing covering her was a skimpy black bra and panties. Sasuke glared at Kimiko as his mind worked to process what was in front of him. Kimiko had a sly smirk on her face as she watched Sasuke look over her outfit.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Kimiko purred and climbed on top of him.

Sasuke glared at her menacingly. "Get off of me."

"Aww why Sasuke-kun? You don't like it?" Kimiko pouted, but pulled her legs around him tighter.

Kimiko leaned down pressing her body against his. Sasuke moved his hands to her shoulders and pushed her off of him. Kimiko scowled, but continued to pursue him. She gripped at his clothing trying to get them off. Sasuke pushed her hands away from his chest, and became frustrated. Suddenly, there was a loud thump on the ground. Standing in the doorway was a shocked looking Sakura. A glass rolled on the floor, Sasuke assumed she had just dropped it.

"Uhm….I'm sorry…..I-I was just going to tell you…..I was taking a shower…But uhm….I'll leave you alone now."Sakura turned on her

Sasuke growled and pushed Kimiko off of him completely. He walked after Sakura slamming the door to the bathroom angrily.

When Sasuke entered Sakura's room she was pacing back in forth. When Sakura finally noticed Sasuke was in there she stopped and rage slammed into her like a bus slamming into a tree.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing Sasuke? Are you trying to get us fired?" Sakura whispered fiercely.

"Sakura…..I didn't do shit. She was trying to seduce me!" Sasuke frowned running a hand through his black hair.

She didn't hear him.

"Do you realize how irresponsable that is Sasuke? Ugh and to think you would give in to someone like HER. What the fuck is wrong with your brian? Do you take advantage of all your fan girls like that? God I'm ashamed to have been one of them before."

"Sakura….." He said getting her attention by grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, "She was trying to seduce me. I was telling her to get off."

Sakura calmed down. "Oh…Really?"

"Yes. Can I stay in here for the night?" Sasuke asked. "I'll sleep on the floor."

"Uh sure…." Sakura answered.

Sasuke went back to his old room not sparing another look at Kimiko. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket and stalked back to Sakura's room.

The lights were off and Sakura was lying in her bed and Sasuke made himself comfortable on the floor, and sat in deep thought. He smirked. He always knew it was Sakura. The whole time Kimiko was trying to seduce him all he could think of was how much better Sakura would look in that outfit.

And with that thought he fell asleep.

**Morning:**

When it was time for Sasuke and Sakura to leave Kimiko didn't come downstairs to say bye to them. The two started their journey back to Konaha's walls knowing they would have to camp in the woods again over night.

Sasuke and Sakura made their way out of the village ready for the challenges ahead of them.

**Meanwhile:**

"Good work Kimiko. I know hisss weaknessss now." A snake like voice hissed.

"So when do we attack the village?" Kimiko's voice rang out.

"Give it time my dear." Orochimaru smirked his snake tongue slithered out and licked his lips.

"Yes Orochimaru-sama." Kimiko bowed and left his quarters.

"Kenji." Orochimaru barked. "We attack in a week."

In the shadows you could barely see a smile spread across Kenji's face.

"Yes Master."

**Mission Escort Continued: Achieved and In Process of Returning to Konaha**

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**Okay so tell me what you think please? Flames as I said are welcome. I understand my fighting scenes need more work and I would love if you could give me some pointers. (:**

**Thanks for the reviews guys. You're encouragement makes keeping up this story pretty easy- I usually quit halfway through but I have a good plot line for this one :D**

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**REVIEW PLEASE D: 10 reviews before I update I got 9 last time. :D Thank you. **


	8. Mission: Randsome

**OKAY GUYS so first off I'm SOOOOOOO sorry that this took forever! & it'll be a while till i update again.**

**Second off it gets kinda sloppy towards the end because I wanted to get this chapter out for you guys! **

**Third Maybe my updates will get better because my job ends this weekend so homework won't take up the rest of my weekend I worked Fri and Saturday from 5-2a.m. and did homework on Sundays plus cheering Saturday mornings from 9-12. Yeah I was busy.**

**Disclaimer: Patrick Star painted Sasuke red today.****  
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**Mission: Randsome**

Sakura shivered as a cold breeze whipped her pink hair in circles. It had been a week since Sakura and Sasuke had returned from their mission, and Sakura still hadn't regained most of her chakra. Sakura sighed exhaustedly. She knew that she should have taken off work, but no she had to insist that she'd be fine. Sakura watched the gates of Konaha as she replayed the end of their mission in her head.

**Flashback:**

_Sakura plopped down on her butt and moaned. Sasuke rolled his eyes and stopped beside her. _

"_We're stopping for the night." Sasuke said for the third time that day._

"_No Sasuke! I'll be fine just give me a minute to rest!" Sakura complained._

"_That's what you said half an hour ago. We're stopping. You need to rest and regain some of your chakara."_

_Sakura's lips turned upward into a mocking smile. "Aw if I didn't know any better it would seem like you actually cared about me Sasuke."_

_Sasuke scoffed. "Yeah right Sakura."_

_Sakura sighed and stood up only to stumble into Sasuke._

"_Oops sorry." She said as a small blush crept across her face._

_Sasuke smirked, but helped her stand._

"_Thanks." She mumbled feeling helpless. _

_Suddenly they heard a soft coo of a bird. Sasuke shivered already knowing it was a pigeon._

_The said bird was hovering over Sasuke's head ready to swoop down and attack his head. Sakura laughed as the bird did just that and Sasuke shooed it away trying to act tough._

**End Flashback**

The night was pretty awkward. It was the first time Sakura was forced to be alone with him again since the night before the mission, but she had found herself smiling more then she had in ages; and she liked it. Not that she liked him, no that's impossible.

Sakura felt her cheeks heat up at the idea; the thought was corrupted by a brief flashback.

**Flashback**

_Sakura pushed her way into the tent exhaustedly, but before she managed to get herself inside she felt herself being pulled back. She had been pulled back by the wrist; she turned to face the grim face of Sasuke Uchiha._

"_Sakura what the hell are these?" Sasuke asked brushing his fingers over the scars on her wrist._

_Sakura shifted uncomfortably under his gaze._

"_Oh um… I had an accident a little while ago…" She muttered. He continued to trace the visible scars on her wrists and suddenly he pushed her sleeve up revealing more along her vein line. _

_He looked at her skeptically and she tore her wrist away from him._

"_Sakura..."_

"_Don't worry about it." And with that she jumped into the tent closing it before she was further interrogated_

'_You could have saved me.'_

**End Flashback**

She let out a long breath. Then suddenly there was a hand over her mouth. She breathed in and prepared to scream, but she couldn't. Her body went limp and her attacker had a smirk on her face.

"So much for the tough Haruno Sakura." And then she swiveled to return where she came from

**Somewhere in Konaha:**

The whole village was in chaos now. Sound ninja were everywhere around their borders and all ninja were called to fight them off. Sasuke Uchiha grunted as he felt his fist connect with a sound nins face. He circled the border once more looking for Sakura's pink head. He knew she was guarding the gates today, but she was no where in sight.

Sasuke rubbed his temples trying to figure out where she might be. Sasuke froze midstep as he suddenly realized what was going on.

'_Damn it I'm so stupid. Why didn't I realize before?" _Sasuke thought as he headed towards the Hokage's office at full speed.

**Somewhere:**

Sakura felt the cold marble floor beneath her cheek. She groaned as her head throbbed painfully, and she strained to open her eyes. She brushed back the pink locks that were sticking to her cheek and her nose took in the smell of something metallic. She regained her sight and brushed her hand through her hair, stopping when she felt something wet and sticky. She slowly pulled her hand away from her head wincing as she saw the red liquid projected on her hand. She shivered weakly, and tried to stand but was restricted by shackles.

She sighed, knowing it was useless to struggle with no chakra to help her. She sat up as much as she could, and examined herself. A few new bruises had formed and she had a few minor scratches. Suddenly there was another presence in the room.

"Sssso you're finally awake are you?" The voice she hated spoke from the dark shadows.

Shivers rolled down her spine. Her eyes became cold, her face a blank slate. Memories flooded back to her. She faced the direction the hiss had come from and addressed him.

"Orochimaru," She nodded.

"It's nice to see you again," He smirked evilly. "This seems vaguely familiar does it not?"

Sakura winced as he projected an image of the last time she had been there on her brain. She shoved the thought out of her mind with much effort and had managed to keep the blank slate on her face.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked him stoically.

"I'm not ssssssssure if that'ssssss any of your concern, princessssssss" The hideous creature hissed and stepped into the small patch of light.

He had taken the form of another since she had last seen him. His face was no longer that of a young mans, it was of an older man in about his 50's. It looked to be crumbling off his face. The left snake eye protruded from beneath the skin of him. Then she recognized the face of the old man she had left Kimiko with.

"Kenji…" She muttered.

"Oh don't worry about him. He felt thissssss wasssssss hissssss duty to me."

Sakura scowled. Orochimaru sent her one last menacing look and left the room. The lights shut off and the room went pitch black once more.

She sat there, chained to the ground cursing herself for letting her guard down. Sakura threw herself on the ground and curled into a ball. For the first time in a year she allowed her tears to brim over her eyes.

A face flashed through her mind. A face that had onyx black eyes, jet black chicken butt hair, and a creamy pale face. Sakura pushed the face out of her mind; she was on her own, just like before. And this time she was sure she would die.

**Konaha**

Sasuke burst through the doors of the Hokage's office to find her in the middle of briefing an electric blonde haired boy.

"Now you and Sakura- who should have been here by no-"

"Tsunade!" Sasuke interrupted rudely, "Sorry to interrupt….but Sakura's been kidnapped."

Tsuande's face paled and her eyes widened. She pounded her first on her desk mercilessly and cursed.

"Why? What does he want this time?" She muttered.

Sasuke looked at her a little confused, but dismissed it for later.

"I know what he wants." Sasuke declared his eyes narrowing. "Me."

Tsunade muttered, "Of course why didn't I see it before? Naruto, gather Neji and Shikamaru and report back to my office as soon as possible. The attack seems to have left the village just as suddenly as it came. I'm assuming their main target was weakening us, and kidnapping Sakura. Sasuke you're staying here; we will not give Orochimaru the satisfaction of having you both."

Sasuke glared at the Hokage. "I'm going. You can't stop me from going after her. It's my fault she's in this mess anyways."

Naruto, sensing the tension, left the room to search for the two leaf ninja he needed.

Tsunade wagged her eyebrows at Sasuke lightening the mood she said, "So you've made your decision huh? Do you love her?"

Sasuke lost himself deep in thought. He found himself thinking about the way her pink hair cascaded down her shoulders. How her gorgeous green eyes drew him into her and her emotions. How her lips curved up when she smiled. She was the sweetest girl you'd ever meet if she'd open up to you, but she was also strong; a worthy match for him when she was at her full strength. He thought about how nice it was to have her in his arms when she had wounded her ankle and couldn't walk. Sasuke thought about how he was jealous of the relationship Naruto and she shared. He thought about how he loved her reaction to him flirting with another girl even though she claimed to hate him.

Sasuke Uchiha thought about the night he held her when it thunder stormed. He thought about her secrets he had learned and ones he had yet to find out. Sasuke Uchiha thought for a very long time.

"No," Sasuke lied. "She's just my comrade."

Tsuande smiled slightly. "You may go. I figure she's trapped somewhere in the Sound Village or remote of the location of it. Brief the guys when you see them. Bring her back alive. I don't care if you kill Orochimaru, it will eventually happen."

Sasuke nodded and raced off to meet Naruto Neji and Shikamaru. They geared up and started on their way to the village, as Shikamaru devised a plan. Sasuke wasn't really paying attention to them, he was focused on one thing, and one thing only.

'_I'm coming Sakura. Hang in there.'_

**Orochimaru's hideout:**

Sakura's whole body felt stiff when she woke up, on the cold hard floor. She sleepily sat up noticing that the door was ajar. Sakura sensed that she had regained enough chakra to move, but not enough to perform a technique. She pretended to still be unable to move as a black haired girl started towards her. Sakura recognized the presence as Kimiko and she sat up almost immediately.

"Are you a part of this too?" Sakura spat angrily.

Kimiko smirked, and she pushed her foot into Sakura's rib cage.

"Of course Haruno. I HATE you." Kimiko sneered.

"Why?" Sakura asked grimacing at the new pain in her ribs.

"Because you dumb bitch!" She said slapping Sakura across the cheek. "I don't have to explain anything to you!"

Sakura winced but held Kimiko's eyes.

"What did I do that made you hate me so much Kimiko?" Sakura said steadying her voice," If this whole thing is about Sasuke…"

Kimiko's eyes began to water as she shoved Sakura insanely.

"You killed my brother!"

**Somewhere in the forest**

Sasuke stretched his legs as he ran; next to him his blonde friend ran by his side, Neji following close behind. Uchiha's face was set in stone, but stress was illuminating from his body.

Naruto sighed and decided to make conversation with Sasuke, but right before he was about to speak Sasuke began.

"What if we don't get to her in time?"

Naruto breathed heavily. "We will. They know you'll be coming for her. They're bound to keep her alive for a while."

Sasuke frowned and continued to sprint.

"Sasuke, did Sakura ever tell you how I found out she had nightmares?"

Sasuke's attention was caught and his head snapped up.

"No. How did you find out?"

Naruto grimaced, "It wasn't a pretty story…"

**Flashback:**

_Naruto was walking the streets in Konaha aimlessly, just thinking. It was one of his favorite past times, and he really needed it that day._

'_How the hell am I going to ask Hinata out?' He was racking his brain for an answer. 'It has to be creative, nothing she's ever heard of.'_

_Naruto was so deep in thought he didn't see the person lying on the ground in front of him, so of course, he tripped and fell flat on his face….into a pool of blood._

_Naruto gasped and got up looking at his blood covered hands. He turned around to see pink hair. She was upside down covered in what he assumed to be her own blood. He slipped her around and saw that her eyes were closed. He noticed she was barely breathing, so he gave her c.p.r, and got her to breathe easier. She let out a soft moan, and opened her eyes slightly. _

"_Naruto." She said weakly. _

"_Don't worry Sakura! I'll get you to the hospital." Naruto whispered to her. "Just save yo-"_

"_NO!" Sakura panicked. "Don't take me to the hospital!"_

_Sakura's eyes went wide and he saw tears at the brim of her eyes. She lifted up her hand to grab his shirt tightly, and he saw where all her bleeding was coming from .From her wrist to the beginning of her elbow there were several deep cuts along her vein line. Naruto looked around and noticed the blood covered kunai on the ground next to her_

"_Why Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked his own eyes filling with tears, fearful for her life._

"_She'll know! She'll put me into the crazy house Naruto… Just take me back to your house! I'll rest and when I'm rested enough, I'll heal myself. Please!" Sakura begged, mistaking the meaning of his question."Don't make me go to the hospital….Please Naruto." _

_And Naruto being the sucker for her he was, complied with her. He brought her to her house, and wrapped her bloody wrists in something to keep them from bleeding, and applied pressure to them. Sakura fell asleep and Naruto called Hinata. He may have been complying with Sakura's wishes, but there's no way he wouldn't call a medic to help heal her as fast as possible._

_Hinata rushed to Naruto's house and saw the horrible scene before her. She went to work right away, healing Sakura's self-given wounds. In the middle of it Sakura came too and tore her arms away from Hinata. She accused Naruto of betraying her trust, after all Hinata was a medic. She would tell Tsuande about this no matter what. They assured her that neither of them would speak a word of this encounter. Sakura made them pinky promise, it's weird how childish she still was even in the face of death. _

_She let Hinata continue healing her though, and fell into a light sleep. When finished Hinata wrapped gauze around the scratches, and collapsed on Naruto's couch._

"_Thank you so much, Hinata-chan." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, and the shy girl turned beat red._

"_No problem Naruto-kun." The shy heiress had lost her stuttering a while ago. It made her all more attractive to him "There will still be….scars." _

_Naruto nodded understandingly. His eyes saddened. Suddenly, from the other room he heard shrieks. He ran to Sakura's bed side and noticed she was drenched in cold sweat, her knuckles turned white from grabbing onto her sheets to hard. Her mouth was agape and she let out another shriek. Naruto pushed her hair back from her face and held her face in his hands._

"_Sakura! Wake up." Naruto shouted at her sleeping form._

_Sakura kept shrieking and Naruto shook her to wake her up. Finally, Sakura's eyes opened, and she grimaced in pain._

"_Naruto." She groaned. "Do you have any Advil?" _

_Naruto nodded his head and grabbed a glass of ice water in the kitchen. He took an Advil pill out and walked back to her room. Naruto supported the glass as she swallowed the pill, and rubbed her temples._

"_Sakura…What was that about?" Naruto asked. _

**End Flashback.**

Naruto finally looked up at Sasuke as he replayed the whole memory to him. His face expressed nothing, but his eyes expressed pain, and compassion.

"Those scars on her wrist are from…herself? Why would she do that to herself?"

"She had a horrible experience. Her parents were kidnapped by Orochimaru. That's why Sakura went on that mission that she got so horribly beat up. She came back mentally and physically weak."

Sasuke's mind wandered and thought about this memory, and finally he connected them.

"That bitch of a snake is going to die." Sasuke growled.

Naruto smirked, "I agree. He's going to pay."

**Mission Randsome: Initiated**

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**Thanks to all who reviewed now don't be afraid to review and leave your comments on this chapter (:I'll update asap!**


	9. Mission: Escape

**ZOMG it took me foreverrrr but here ya gooo guys**

**Happpyyyy New Year! :D 2011! **

**Disclaimer: Today I found Naruto in a toga at my door. Can you say disturbing?**

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**Mission: Escape**

Sakura sat again on the cold ground clutching her aching ribs. She moved cautiously trying not to jostle any unset bones. Groaning against the pain, she assessed her chakra levels. Judging from the amount of chakra she now had in her body, it had at least been a day since her imprisonment. Sakura sighed slightly, and, in turn let out a small yip of pain.

'_Daichi __Miyagi_,' Sakura thought. '_Why does that sound so familiar?_'

She racked her brain silently looking through her memories for the name. She sat for about an hour thinking through it until it came to her.

Daichi Miyagi was a co-worker with the Akatsuki. He was there when her small team attacked the corporation and he just happened to get in her way…

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows slightly. She looked at her hands remembering the night she had killed Itachi. Her intention had been to prove to Sasuke Uchiha that she was not weak. And look where she was now. In the clutches of an evil snake who had murdered her parents almost 2 years ago. She clenched her fist and made a promise that she would escape this hell alive.

As soon as she did that she heard the door being thrown open. Sakura jumped slightly but froze on the ground where she lay. She forced herself to make her breathing even and sensed that it was only Kimiko that had entered the room.

Kimiko pushed Sakura's body with the tip of her foot. She crushed it hard into her ribs causing her to yelp.

"Rise and shine Sakuraaa," Kimiko taunted. "Time to eat."

Sakura groaned and sat up noticing that Kimiko held something in her hands. She gave her a questioning look.

"Gotta keep you alive till your savior gets here," Kimiko explained.

And then realization hit her. She had thought Orochimaru wanted her here to finish the job he had left unfinished years ago. Well she assumed wrong. They were expecting Sasuke to come save her like he hadn't all those years ago. She hoped Orochimaru was ready to accept disappointment when she escaped by herself once again.

Sakura looked up towards Kimiko taking the chance of distraction to make hand signs. She gathered chakra into her hands and placed them on Kimiko's legs. Slowly drawing her chakra from her body. When Kimiko had the chance to figure out what was going on it was already too late. She had passed out from lack of chakra. Sakura now feeling closer to 100 percent then she had in a while healed herself. Her ribs now mended and her chakra levels were still pretty good she began to stand up.

Being haunted by past memories Sakura sprinted towards the exit and ran right into Orochimaru.

He gripped me by the shoulders and smirked evilly.

"Ahhh S-ssakura. And where are we going my dear?" He asked.

She shuddered and made the mistake of looking at his hideously incinerated mask. He projected the image of her screaming mother into her mind. Her pink locks cut short and her face scared and bloodied while Sakura stood on the sidelines horrified.

"NO!" Sakura screamed and punched Orochimaru square in the jaw causing him to release her and she ran.

**Sakura's P.O.V:**

I panicked and sprinted toward a random room opening the door. Orochimaru's voice indicated he was not far behind, his lisp made Sakura shiver. I looked around for an exit the only available one being the window at the far end. Knowing I couldn't waste time, Orochimaru's chakra was getting closer I managed to fit myself out of the small window. Only to find to my dismay that I was on the third floor. The turning of the door knob caught my attention and I was left with no choice. I jumped off the ledge and landed as silently as she could in the grass. Unfortunately, due to my lack of preparation my ankle came down the wrong way and caused me to collapse onto the grass below. I moaned but fought through the pain knowing that I couldn't waste anymore chakra if I wanted to live.

While lying on the ground and I examined my surroundings and cursed. The sky had grown dark and the moon was nowhere in sight, but that wasn't the least of my problems. The bushes were huge and not only were they huge but they were thick as well. Towering a good 5 feet over my own head.

'_I'm a mouse in a maze. To him that's what this is predator and prey' _It was a sickening thought, but I knew I was right.

Ignoring the stabbing pain of my ankle, I rose to my full height. I began to jog that was more of a stumble. By this point my ankle was screaming in agony, but I managed. I heard a door not too far away from me open, by this point I had ran into a couple of dead ends and had to start over. This really was a maze. I pushed through the burning of my lungs, my breaths were coming in small gasps,

"Sssssakura-saaannn I know you're out here." Orochimaru's horrible voice carried to me.

He sounded so close and so I sprinted on my ankle which was most likely sprained. I turned a corner and quietly cursed when I found myself at another dead end.

"Sssssweety jussst give thissss game up. You know you'll losssseee just like your parentsss did." His slimy voice said from what seemed like the corner she had just passed.

My hysteria rose as I blindly ran around in this never-ending maze being as quiet as I could. I knew he was closing in on me and my eyes were brimming with tears. I would not die yet. I continued on my search for the exit to the maze and heard his voice again. This time he sounded further away.

"If you give up now then I promissssse you will live." He snickered, but his empty promise sounded more like a whisper now then a yell.

I took this as a good sign making a sharp left around a corner to find an opening. I dashed to the exit to find a small open field leading into a thickening forest. No town, but this would have to do. I raced across the open field not daring to look back and see if he was pursuing me. I reached the forest, the leaves crunched beneath my feet, to many to dodge. I didn't care so much about being quiet now. I felt his presence as he began to cross the field and my instinct told me to climb a tree and wait. I listened and made my way up an oak tree making sure my chakra was masked. I took out a kunai and readied myself. It wasn't long that he appeared under the selected tree. He looked around clearly looking for signs that I had been there I took the opportunity to jump at him. From above I flew down and managed to swipe my kunai across one of his eyes blinding him.

He shrieked in pain and I took off again. It took me a lot of resolve not to collapse and let my ankle rest. As soon as I had made it further into the forest I found myself facing a creek. I knew Orochimaru was literally right behind me so I made the best use of my options as I could. I crossed the creek and I reached the other side. I took a chance and glanced back and there he was waist deep into water still chasing me. I ran along side of the creek and as it ran the drop into the creek increased I reached a dead end, but found a bridge close to the other end. I took my chances and leapt for it, my hand grasping the wood at the bottom of the bridge and pulled myself up to my hips. And then before I realized it Orochimaru was hanging onto me too. His weight threatened to bring me down. The drop was at least 60 feet down. I kicked my feet and struck him in the face with my foot causing his grip to loosen for a split second and that was all I needed. My kunai was still in my hand and I slashed him on the wrists and he plummeted below.

I pulled myself up again this time standing on the bridge looking down in disbelief. I stood there shocked for what seemed like hours, but in reality must have only been a minute or so.

"I never took you to be the nature type." A deep voice accused,

The voice that sounded like velvet and instantly soothed me and out of instinct my hands went to my hair. Twigs were tangled into it and my anbu outfit now had many rips and holes in it and I'm sure my face was streaked with a mixture of mud and blood. I turned my head and meet the eyes of three friends.

My vision started to fade around the edges and my ankle was throbbing. My body had decided it was time to rest. I fell backwards and my world went black around the edges.

**Sasuke:**

I caught Sakura and looked at my comrades uneasily. We would have to wait to hear the story later. Until then we turned around and ran to where we had set up camp which was, thankfully, far away from here. When we reached our headquarters as we called them I squeezed Sakura into the small tent that was meant for me. Naruto, Neji, and I discussed watch times and I volunteered to take first watch so I could be around when she came too. Before heading out to take watch I gazed down at Sakura as she caught up on her sleep. I caught myself staring at her and shook my head dismissing my last thought. I took my post as guard and let my mind wander a little bit knowing Sakura was safe as long as we were around.

'_How can anyone be that beautiful after what she's been through?'_

**Sakura:**

When I woke up I was in a tent, I sat up suddenly a shooting pain throughout my chest causing me to lay back down. I took in Sasuke's amused face and recalled the events from the night before. It didn't ease my alarm.

"And sleeping beauty wakes." Sasuke muttered and I dismissed his joke for much more important matters.

"Where are we?" I intended the words to be strong but they came out as a strange croaking sound.

"In the forest, in a tent." Sasuke stated simply.

I rolled my eyes at his blunt attitude, typical Sasuke.

"But more importantly, what happened to you Sakura?"

My body shot up instantly, my eyes were no doubt showing the hysteria from last night. My breathing turned ragged, I had to bite my lip to keep down a sob. The stabbing of my ribs causing me to grimace.

"W-where is he?" I asked terrified of the answer.

"Sakura he's not going to take you again. I'm sorry you had to go through that…" Sasuke said sympathetically rubbing my back lightly.

He sounded like he wanted to say more but I dismissed the thought. I drew my knees into my chest ignoring my ribs and tried to bury my head deep down into them. Sasuke tapped my arm and I lifted my eyes to out from my safe haven. He pushed my chin up forcing me to meet his gaze. I shivered slightly as I replayed my whole kidnapping in my head,

When I told him Kimiko was in cahoots with Orochimaru his eyes widened.

"I murdered her brother." I answered shrugging like it was no big deal, but we both knew it was.

Sasuke nodded saying for more, which signaled that he wanted me to continue my story. So I took a deep breath and finished my story.

I watched as his facial expressions changed from regret to rage in mere seconds. When I finished his eyes were narrowed and he was controlling his breathing.

"Sakura.." He said putting both of his hands on my shoulders gripping them hard, "I'm sorr-"

The tent's door burst open and Naruto barged through the door. A smile spread across his face completely oblivious to anything, He tackled me causing Sasuke to lose his grip on me, and pulled me into a bear hug crushing my aching ribs to him. I yelped slightly and he let me go tentatively.

"Sakura-chan I was so worried about you! I mean I know you'd wake up, but I didn't know when" Naruto exclaimed.

Something about his tone caught me off guard.

"How long was I out for?" I questioned.

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer me, but was interrupted by Naruto.

"Two and a half days" Naruto answered.

Sasuke shot him a glare. He was going to go for the more subtle approach and the reaction I gave proved exactly why.

"WHAT?" My hands went to my hair pulling on it slightly. "No that's too much time, he could have caught up with us! We have to leave now!"

Sasuke snorted, but otherwise stayed silent.

"Sakura honey, were fine we moved during the day while you were out." Naruto assured her.

"Then… how did I move?" I could feel my eyebrows rise in shock my mind registering the answer before Naruto answered.

"Sasuke carried you," His grin spread from ear to ear.

That I didn't expect to hear and I could only imagine the look on my face. It was obviously funny because Naruto cracked up and Sasuke's signature smirk appeared.

"Guilty." Sasuke cooed.

And I'm pretty sure I passed out again because the next thing I know Naruto was shaking me his azure blue eyes laced with concern. There was a sound that I couldn't quiet recognize until I did. I relished in the sound of Sasuke's laughter, until I realized he was laughing at me.

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks as I tried to defend myself.

"I was just shocked that you would admit it!" I cried.

Tried and failed. Sasuke laughed harder and now even Naruto was staring at him. Sasuke excused himself from the tent and left me alone with Naruto. I sighed motioning for Naruto it was time to leave the tent and get this mission back on track. Whatever the mission was.

"By the way," I mentioned. "What were you guys doing out here anyways?

"Tsunade sent us out to rescue you. She had us going towards the Sound Village only to find out that's not where Orochimaru was hiding you. That damn snake. He was holding you hostage to get Sasuke back in his clutches." Naruto's eyes widened.

When he said that I happened to be stepping out of the tent and one foot was on the ground the other happened to get caught behind with the rest of the tent and the horrible force of gravity worked its magic. I landed face first on the ground, the nerves on my face suddenly on fire. I had forgotten my ankle, which was surely fractured by now.

I pushed chakra towards my ankle healing it, but made no such motion towards my ribs. Naruto held his hand out to me and pulled me up into his arms. He sat me down close to the fire and gave me a confused look.

"Injury report?" Naruto bent down to face me,

"Three or four broken ribs." I answered cautiously putting my hands around my chest.

"Why don't you just heal those?"

"Because if I heal them but they're set wrong then they just have to re-break them. So I might as well keep them broken until we get home. I'm assuming that's where were going?" I shrugged off his concern.

Sasuke approached us and my expression froze on my face.

"Yes we are," Naruto answered. "but it looks like Sasuke here will have to carry you home since you can't walk for a long time with broken ribs."

I looked at him keeping my guise on and nodded my head. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I couldn't help it. They packed up camp and Sasuke's arms enveloped me and off we went. Sasuke asked me a few questions, but I pretended to fall asleep, and eventually stopped. I heard the groups footsteps slow down and opened my eyes to see the Gates of Konaha come into my view. Instead of dropping me off at my house the group took me straight to the Hospital to get my ribs healed. By hospital policy Naruto, Neji, and Sasuke had to stay in the waiting room.

Lying down on the hospital bed, I heard Tsunade's voice coming down the hall towards my room. She entered and the nurse taking care of me bowed and left the room. As soon as the nurse left Tsunade let her concern shine through her features. Suddenly the muscles in my chest were closing in on me and my hands went to my head pulling on my hair. My head was pounding and my breathing started to become shallow. Then the world around me was red. Orochimaru stood above me and there was so so much blood… but who did it belong too?

My eyes automatically scanned my body and….the blood was mine. The blood poured from a huge hole in the middle of my chest. A mysterious figure appeared across the room and laughed at my death. I began to scream and panicked until my world became reality again. Shaking violently, I opened my eyes and let out a sob. When I finally pulled my hands away from my eyes Tsunade's face looked taken aback. The door slammed open and Sasuke Uchiha walked through the door and I screamed.

"Get him out of here! Now please! I don't want to die." I bawled

Tsunade snapped into action and escorted the confused looking Sasuke out of my room which seemed smaller to me then it had before.

As soon as Sasuke was gone Tsunade took my hand in her own and squeezed it slightly while she whispered soft words to me. When I had finally begun to breathe normally, and had calmed down as much as I could I relayed the episode to Tsunade.

"We're going to have to run a few tests on you okay hunny?" Tsunade motioned.

I nodded bleakly.

A few tests later I was released from the hospital with orders to take it easy and rest. Tsunade escorted me out and stopped Sasuke before he could reach me.

"Sasuke I think its best you stay away from her for now. She's traumatized." Tsunade explained.

I made my way towards my house and thought over the episode for what seemed like the 50th time. What scared me the most was not Orocimaru, or my immediate death. Oh no, it had been the blood red eyes with three black commas in them and the mysterious figure's voice that could only be Sasuke Uchiha's.

'_I'm the reason you're family's dead. Now it's your turn.'_

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Intense rightt? Hahaha I hope you liked it were nearing the end of this story! So uh R&r thank you guyss and Happy 2011!

Thanks to all my reviewers I don't have the time to name you guys by name today but please stay with me :D

**Mission Escape: Achieved **


	10. Mission: Seasons

**Disclaimer: Tenten is a very jealous lady!**

**So hiiii sorry it took a while and this chapter is short and you probably won't understand everything that goes on until next chapter butttt here you go.**

**Oh and I was VERY disappointed with the amount of reviews. Counting on 5 next time to post the next chapter at all!**

**Mission: Seasons**

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Truth be told her episode scared me almost as much as it scared her. I didn't understand what could possibly have scared her so much by the mere sight of me. I stumbled backwards out the door replaying her words in my head _'Get him out of here! Now please! I don't want to die!' _My heart thrashed in my chest wanting to go to her side and figure out what was wrong but knowing it would only cause her more agony. So instead of invading her privacy I sat back down in my seat and waited. Naruto sensed the change in my attitude, I could tell by the way his body stiffened when I sat beside him; but he said nothing. He understands me more than anyone except for maybe the person who just shut me out.

I sat there with my head hung low for what seemed like days but in reality were only a couple of hours. Her presence brought me back from my sorrow and I jumped from my seat determined to ask her exactly what happened only to be stopped by a blonde haired hokage.

"Sasuke I think its best you stay away from her for now. She's traumatized." Tsunade pleaded.

Her face calm and professional but her eyes begging me to obey. So I do I let the only girl I've ever had eyes for walk by me, her face covered by her pink locks not even sparring me a glance; like I'm not even worth her time. I swear I felt my chest scream in agony for the first time since I left Sakura sitting on that cold hard bench years ago. After she made it out the doors Tsunade took me aside and explained to me what was going on.

"Listen Uchiha I know despite what you might say you love Sakura, but honestly you need to heed my warning. Stay away from her for right now. Something happened between now and the time that she was gone that caused her to have panic attacks and horrible visions at the same time. Here I can show you exactly what she saw." Tsunade said he hand outstretched.

I took it slowly unsure of what she was about to do until her chakra followed from her body to mine projecting the image of Sakura's vision. Suddenly the world around me was red. Examining the room around me there was so much blood splattered everywhere and Orochimaru stood before me grinning wildly. I felt numb and realized that all this blood had come from me. I heard a familiar laugh from across the room and felt my cold red eyes on her body. I felt the way my laugh made her cringe and heard the way my cold voice reached right to her heart.

'_I'm the reason you're family's dead. Now it's your turn.'_

And then my vision blacked out throwing me back into the real world where my own expression was one of shock and horror; but now I understood everything. I understood why Sakura treated me so coldly when I arrived, and I understood why Sakura changed. She was forced too. Her heart remained the same but it was shielded when she built up her guard; but what hit home the most was she had believed I killed her family.

Somehow Sakura blamed me for being the death of her family and now she thinks I'll be the death of her. I don't understand why, but I'm going to find out and then I realize by law Sakura still has to live at my house and watch over me. I head to my own house knowing she won't be there, but not wanting to bother her and leave my mind to wander.

**Sakura**

I threw my arms around the grave stones of my parents and let my figure sink to the ground. I let the tears roll down my face and sat there like that for a while.

"Mom, Dad, I don't know what to do! I'm so confused!" I cried, "I know I love him still even after all these years, but he…he watched you die! He was there and he could have saved you; but he didn't!"

I let sobs wrack my body and feel the weather become colder. A cold sensation prickles my bare skin and I know it's snowing and I'm reminded of a question my mom used to ask me.

_Flashback_

_I watched in amazement as these little white flakes covered the ground within minutes. I couldn't wait to go outside and play in it. My face pressed against the glass window, not caring how cold it was or how foggy my breath made the window. I sighed longingly looking at the snow desperately wishing it to come down faster. I felt a hand run through my hair gently and I looked up at my mother, whose hair was as pink as mine._

"_Winter is my favorite season." My mother said kindly._

_I glanced back out the window understanding exactly why this beautiful scene could change anyone's favorite season, but spring still remains mine._

"_Sakura hunny. Can I ask you something?" My mom questioned._

_I looked up at her eager to appease her in any way._

"_When the snow melts what does it become?" She asked._

"_It becomes water mommy." I answered eagerly only to be shot down when she shook her head._

"_No Sakura. It becomes spring." She answered with a smile on her face._

_End Flashback_

I didn't quite understand it then, but I knew what she meant now; And I knew the snow was also a sign from her. She was here and she was listening and she was telling me not to lose hope; spring always comes after winter.

I clutched my gut and let out one last heart wrenching sob, but finally managed to pull myself together.

"I love you and miss you so much Mom and Dad. I think about you everyday dreaming of the day that we can be a family again. I can't wait to join you, but for your sake I hope it's not soon. I know you'll hate if I die young, but it's so hard walking around every day with that huge hole in my chest. That hole that can never be filled until I see you again. I love you so much please keep watching over me!" I looked up to the clouds and caught a snow flake on my tongue.

Making my way to the Uchiha household, not knowing what to expect but going through with it anyways. I mean what did it matter? I'm leaving tonight anyways.

I walked through the door expecting him to be sitting there waiting to confront me, but he wasn't. Quickly, I ran upstairs into my room here and shut the door quietly. Feeling a little more than exhausted I lie down and fell asleep quickly. I must have been out for about three hours, but a little bit later I felt his presence and that's all it took to set me off. My chest closed up again and it became hard for me to breathe. I began to shake violently and my screams came out as strangled gasps.

My world turned black and dead center spot light was my mom.

"MOM!" I screamed in an attempt to reach her, but it was no use I was hand cuffed to the wall watching my mother in dead center and those eyes, the eyes that could only belong to him, shown through the darkness. I vividly heard him draw his blade and watched in agony and horror as he slowly tortured my mom before he violently killed her. And then the spot light switched to my dad. My breathe came in shallow gasps and tremors wracked my small frame as I watched as he killed my dad too. The two lifeless figures of my parents lay on the floor and he approached me with his blade in his hand.

"Poor weak Sakura," His velvet voice verbally attacked me. "Can't even save your own parents."

"Just kill me! Please!" I screamed, just like I did the day Orochimaru did this exact same thing.

"Oh Sakura hunny I can't. Don't you see you're the key to my success?" He answered the same thing Orochimaru said to me.

"I don't want to live in this world on my own!" I thrashed against my shackles begging him to murder me right then and there.

My vision returned to me and my chest unlocked, but now I was not only physically shaken I was emotionally shaken. I felt someone grab my body I heard him whisper sweet things to me and I felt disgusted, but I let him continue to sooth me until he believed me to be asleep. He left my room and I instantly grabbed a bag and packed. I had to get out of here until my mind was cleared and I was going to murder him once and for all.

I pushed my new ANBU Black Opps uniform down onto my body and threw in some random clothes and a few things I knew I would need. I crept down stairs and out the door being careful not to disturb him. Once outside I ran for dear life towards the gates, but masked my chakra. I came to that place where my life changed so drastically; that bench that I blame for everything that has happened. Why couldn't I have been stronger? None of this would have happened.

Then I not only hear him I feel him too. He's there right where I stood once years ago. This had to be karma; our roles are reversed now, but the same things about to happen.

"Sakura," He breathed. "I know what you're about to do and I'm here to warn you not to do it."

I winced but answered firmly," You did it. Why can't I?"

Sasuke growled.

"And you seem to think that I had no regrets in leaving this village Sakura, but you're wrong. I grew up in this village. All my good memories are here and when I had to choose to leave the village behind I was devastated. Not only did I leave memories behind, I left people behind that I cared about. People that cared about me, the only people who I felt understood me. I was an idiot Sakura, I thought this village couldn't give me strength, but I was wrong and you're about to make the same mistake I did."

"No I won't. No one here cares too much about me. I've made sure of that. My memories here are mostly painful ones and the people here are only a reminder to me of what used to be. I can't live like this Sasuke! Do you know what it's like to go through the whole day with people pitying you? Making it so obvious that they do? Not bothering to mask their relief when I pass by them? It's absolutely horrible!"

He moved closer to me reaching his hand out towards me and I take a step backwards.

"Sakura I know exactly how that feels. My parents were slaughtered by my own brother. People look at me like that every day especially now that I've returned to the village. Sakura, so many people care about you! Tsunade-sama thinks of you as her daughter she does everything to protect you. Naruto is your brother and can't stand to see you in the slump you're in. People remind me every day of my family, but they remind me of the good memories of family that I cherish. Sure I feel absolutely alone sometimes, but that's why I have my friends as my support system. I live to see them Sakura. I live to see you."

Tears burn at the backs of my eyes and I do nothing to avoid them. They cascade down my face as I reply.

"Why would you make me experience the same thing you went through then? Why did you let my parents die Sasuke?" I cried not bothering to stop at his confused expression." How could you let that snake murder my parents' right before my eyes! Why didn't you save me from this life of pain and misery and revenge? Why didn't you save THEM?"

"What are you talking about Sakura? When were they kidnapped?" Sasuke asked a little more rationally then I would have.

And I suddenly was facing my worst fear. His answer was what I have been waiting for since my parents died in front of me that faithful night.

"Three years ago."

"Sakura, by then I was gone. I no longer was associating with Orochimaru back then! I would never let you hurt like that Sakura. If I knew he had you held hostage I would have come save you no doubt about it. Sakura I love you I would never hurt you on purpose. I have no doubt in my mind that I'm in love with you. All I want for you is to be happy no matter who it's with or how you obtain it. I love the way you can take on any challenge given to you, I love that no matter how strong you are you're still vulnerable in only a way that people close to you can see. I live for your smiles, your eyes and your laughs. I live to help you through your fears and help you through the rough times, and I will be here for you when you kill that bastard for making you go through what he has, but Sakura, you need to forgive yourself."

I sit there watching as he's moving closer to me with every word until he's right beside me, holding me up and wiping my tears away with his fingers. I see his eyes soften as he takes me in, and strokes my cheek gently, and after everything he just said I can only think of one thing to ask him.

So I clear my throat and ask it, "When the snow melts what does it become?"

He's caught off guard by the question I just asked but answers right away. "Spring. It becomes spring."

I let myself collapse into his arms sobbing as he holds me close to him soothing me softly. Pushing my wet matted hair off of my face and placing a soft kiss on my forehead, just like a father would comfort his daughter. His love is not fatherly, but he still reminds me of my father and so I guess the saying is true that woman do fall for people like their dad.

I know it startles him, but I pushed my lips onto his eager to feel his lips against mine and sigh. My heart flutters and my whole body is heated by the feel of the kiss and when he kisses me back I feel on top of the world.

When we break apart all I can do is smile.

"Welcome Spring," I mummer into his ear quietly.

**Mission Seasons: Complete****

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**Woooo end of the chapter. It's kinda cheesy oh well. I know it's short and you may not understand everything yet still but I'll explain it all in the next chapter and if you still don't understand what's going on then let me know. (:**

**Okay so seriously guys? Three Reviews? Special thanks to my three reviewers! I'm expecting more next time or you won't be getting a chapter anytime soon!**

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**Stay tuned for the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Tenten is a very jealous lady. **

**Thanks R&R pleaseee**


	11. Mission: Planning

**Sorry about the wait! I still don't have a computer so I'm updating through my brothers computer ;D SO enough about me on to the story.**

_I know it startles him, but I pushed my lips onto his eager to feel his lips against mine and sigh. My heart flutters and my whole body is heated by the feel of the kiss and when he kisses me back I feel on top of the world._

_When we break apart all I can do is smile._

_"Welcome Spring," I mummer into his ear quietly._

* * *

**Mission: Planning**

In my life nothing has been perfect since I was about seven. So naturally the perfect moment was ended. My breathing came in sallow gasps as my chest closed in on itself. My hands automatically wrapped around my now soaked in sweat body and my world turned red. I could hear Sasuke's voice in the background trying to get my attention, but it was quickly blocked out by the giant snake that appeared before me.

It's owner was mantled on top of his head and was none other than, of course, Orochimaru.

"Well dear Ssssakura. Long time no sssseeee." He snickered slightly.

I kept myself from retching and glared at him.

**Meanwhile..**

To say the least Sasuke was freaked out. All of a sudden Sakura's calm form had shifted to entirely uncomfortable.

"Sakura?" He called trying to ger her attention, but it was to no avail.

Sasuke laid her flat down on the ground and pushed her hair away from her neck trying to get her as comfortable as possible. He paused when he noticed a strange black symbol on her neck that seemed to be pulsing. His finger brushed it slightly causing Sakura to whimper.

Sasuke growled to himself and picked the pinkette up into his arms heading to the only person he knew who could fix this.

He got to Kakashi's house in less than five minutes. Meanwhile Sakura had began to groan and shiver in her sleep. Throwing Sakura's limp form over his shoulder he knocked the door open and found Kakashi sleeping on the couch.

He marched right over to the said ninja and slapped him.

"Wake up." He stated with a violent shake.

Kakashi's eyes opened and gave Sasuke a questioning look. Sasuke motioned to the now unconscious girl on his shoulders and laid her down on the couch Kakashi had occupied not less than two second ago.

He pushed Sakura's pink locks away from her neck again showing Kakashi the black pulsing symbol.

"Seal it now." Sasuke said in a tone that couldn't be argued with.

Kakashi's raised eyebrow was visible under his mask.

"Sasuke she has to be conscious or I could kill her," Kakashi said looking into Sasuke's eyes.

"God damn it Kakashi! She's having a panic attack and you can't help her?" Sasuke growled in fury.

Kakashi shook his head no and Sasuke slammed his fist down on Kakashi's coffee table.

"Hey that cost me a lot of money." Kakashi whined earning a well deserved Uchiha glare, "and anyways that didn't help Sakura."

Sasuke sighed and bent down to Sakura's level grabbing her hand squeezing it gently.

'I always knew he'd fall in love with her.' Kakashi thought smugly.

**Sakura's world**

My lungs were on fire along with my legs. I was running through this seemingly endless blood red world.

Orochimaru was of course on my tracks. We were headed in the direction of the Village of Konaha. Me to warn my friends and family and he to destroy every last trace of the village.

As the village gates came into view I saw the familiar faces of my friends lined up at the gates waiting to welcome me.

I expected them to notice the snake behind me but no one paid any heed to it. Not even when I ran up to Ino and pointed and shouted for her to run did they notice.

A flash appeared and engulfed the village and I was left to walk to ruins. Lifeless bodies of friends and children stared longingly up at me, The remaining houses were on fire and a light drizzle began to fall.

The only two upright bodies were that of Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha. I approached them stopping only when a hand grasped my ankle.

I looked down to see Tsunade on the ground, dying. Her top-heavy figure was covered in blood and her almost lifeless eyes stared at me.

"Tsunade-sama!" I cried.

She merely looked at me and smiled before she fell unconscious forever.

I fell to my knees and felt tears stinging t the back of my eyes. I let them fall to the ground and stood up in pure fury.

"You!" I screamed looking directly at Orochimaru.

I charged him and in a flash he was gone. That was expected when one fought recklessly.

Sasuke appeared behind me and I side stepped his attempted punch.

I looked around to find Orochimaru nowhere in sight and turned to face Sasuke.

"Sakura," His leveled his gaze onto my own.

"Faker," I spat

"Hn." He simply said, "Tell that to your parents."

And of course my parents appeared right next to me.

"Sakura!" My mother and father both said to me at the same time.

I moaned in agony. Oh how I wished this moment was real, I'd give anything for it.

I kept my face straight and looked at Sasuke. My parents noticed him and inched further behind me.

"Sakura he killed ussssss!" I could hear the snakes voice behind their own.

I grabbed a kunai from my pack and pointed at Sasuke. I knew exactly how to end this mind game. Faster than a person could blink I flipped the kunai around at me and plunged it into my heart.

The shock brought me back into the real world. My eyelids were heavy and I could feel the warm sensation through my hand and mentally sighed.

"Sakura," Sasuke urged me, "Open your eyes."

I forced my heavy lids to open only to notice that I was now in Kakashi's house.

My head began to feel dizzy as I sat up to fast and fell back down onto the couch.

"Why am I here?" I questioned.

Sasuke looked relived and crushed me to his chest. As soon as he had me there he explained.

"A new curse mark. Kakashi's going to seal it." He murmured quietly to me stroking my cheek softly.

I winced when Sasuke's fingers poked a tender spot on my neck. Kakashi quietly got up to retrieve a mirror handing it to me to see.

A black symbol that looked like a spider web appeared on my neck. My eyes widened and I dropped the mirror.

"How bad is it?" I asked Sasuke knowing he'd been through it.

"Painful," He answered truthfully. "but I'll be here the whole time."

I nodded and motioned to Kakashi to set up the room for the sealing process. He scampred off to grab a few things leaving Sasuke and I to ourselves.

"Sasuke," I muttered softly so Kakashi wouldn't hear, "Orochimaru is planning the destruction of Konoha. He intends to get you back no matter what. I think we should stop him before he has the chance to invade Konoha again. Get Naruto Neji and Shikamaru together. We'll depart in the morning."

Sasuke gave me a worried look.

"Don't worry I can handle this." I said," but don't leave without me."

Sasuke nodded and gave me a soft kiss on the lips sending an electric vibe throughout my spinal cord.

"I love you." He whispered and then disappeared out the door.

"I love you too." I whispered back even though he was long gone.

"Sakura," Kakashi called.

I turned and walked into the circle ready to bind the curse seal. Whatever may be the risk I will kill Orochimaru I vowed to myself.

**Sasuke's POV**

I met with the Hokage first to inform her of Sakura's knowledge. She wasn't extremely happy about being woken up in the middle of the night but none the less this was important business.

Tsunade's concern was written all over her face.

"Hokage-sama if you don't mind me saying, but it's about time Sakura moved on in life and I feel this is the only way she'll be able to do it." I mentioned.

Her eyebrows furrowed but she sighed in defeat.

"I see your point," Tsunade agreed. "Okay well I'll give you my permission to stop Orochimaru from destroying Konaha. Gather Naruto Neji Shikamaru and Tenten and have them meet me down here."

I agreed and set off to find all persons mentioned.

It took me at least an hour to find them all. Walking into the Hokagae's office, literally dragging the dobe we got down to business.

"Hello everyone. Sorry to drag you out of bed," With these first few words Naruto perked up and began to listen.

"I have been informed that Orochimaru is planning on attacking and destroying the Village Hidden in the Leaves. So you're mission is to stop that from happening at all times. Sakura will be joining you. You set off for Sound tomorrow morning."

"Hokage-sama. He's not in Sound. It would be to obvious if he was in Sound." Shikamaru commented.

"Then where do you suppose he's to be found?" Tsunade questioned.

"Mist." Sasuke stated simply.

They all turned to him expectantly.

"He has friends there." He shrugged and motioned for Tsunade to continue on with prompting.

"Anyways you will set off for Mist then tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. sharp. You are all my strongest and smartest captains of ANBU. I want you to invade his base and bring Orochimaru back… dead or alive." Tsunade motioned.

All ninja nodded and accepted the mission. Tsunade then dismissed them all except Sasuke.

"Sasuke-san," She murmured. "I trust that you'll protect her? I can't bear to never see her again."

"Of course." He answered.

She smiled warmly at him and dismissed him. He walked out of the Hokage's office into the night and sprinted straight to Kakashi's house.

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**Mission Planning: COMPLETE!**

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